Or Lack Thereof
by Isha-No-Aikousha
Summary: The Doctor and Donna discover a stone idol far out of it's own time, but left by whom and for what purpose? Rated M for spears, Donna's backhand, and Jack being Jack.
1. Chapter 1

Or Lack Thereof

Note: This has been bumping around in my head for ages, so I finally decided to get it out. This'll end up being pretty long, and I apologize for that. Also, warning, spoilers for Torchwood 2x13, Doctor Who 4x01. This story was inspired by the set photos from the filming of the series finale of season 4 (Which can be found on youtube - tTHFa0Sdc8Y), so this story will incorporate major spoilers for 4x11-13, but certainly not in the same context as they'll be presented in the show.

Chapter 1:

As usual, the Doctor was running. His trainers slapped the ancient stone floor, offering a counter to the crescendo of drums booming from the hallway behind them. He turned to see Donna running just slightly behind and to the side of him. In the flickering light provided by the torches that lined the hallway, he saw her grinning as she ran, one hand carefully holding her purse in place alongside her.

"We're almost there!" The Doctor shouted, sprinting faster. The light grew brighter at the end of the tunnel.

A wicked howl erupted from the opposite end of the tunnel. Donna looked over her shoulder to see easily a dozen men, perhaps more, howling madly at them, giving chase. At the head of the group was a man dressed in a robe made of macaw feathers. His ceremonial mask hung by twine around his neck, swinging as he ran. Donna turned her focus back to the path in front of her, and felt the Doctor take her hand.

"Ready for this?" He asked loudly over the screaming pack behind them.

"It has better work," She panted back, "Or else those head hunters will be the least of your problems."

Only a few feet now. "Ok! Here we go!" He said, gripping her hand tightly and adjusting the sonic in the other.

"Jump!" Yelled the Doctor.

The Doctor and Donna burst out into the blinding sunlight. For a moment, Donna felt as though she was flying. That is, until she looked down.

The Doctor wished he could close his ears as easily as he could his eyes when Donna began screaming. It wasn't that he didn't feel for her. He did, he assured himself. It was more the fact that her screams could rip the bark of trees, flay small children, and, he believed, even shred the armor of a Dalek. It wouldn't surprise him. Finally reaching the correct frequency, he pointed the sonic below them and felt the resonance waves from it's interaction with the TARDIS's shield systems vibrate his entire arm. Despite the fact she was still screaming, the Doctor pulled Donna's hand and wrapped an arm around her waist.

She stopped screaming. It wasn't because of the arm – he'd done that plenty since she'd met him again. Pulling her out of the way of this deadly thing and that ferocious monstrosity. It was because of the look in his eye as he grinned, a look that would get any normal person sent straight to the hospital on an involuntary psychiatric hold. She'd seen this look before as well, but she just couldn't believe he was this happy now.

200 feet above them, the shaman and his accomplices had reached the opening. Shocked, the watched the Doctor and his woman fall down the cliff. Then, they got angry.

"Oi!" The Doctor yelled, tucking his arm close. Donna watched the spear sail downwards, and then slow. It had stopped., in midair.

The Doctor was watching as well. He glanced over at Donna. "Ready?" He asked, squeezing her hand.

She nodded, and clutched her purse. She expected a thump, pain, rolling, all the things that happen when you've been falling for hundreds of feet and hit a solid object, but experienced none of them. Instead, she was sinking. She looked at her feet, to see nothing, and then to the Doctor, who was busy adjusting the sonic.

"Going down." He said calmly, and suddenly they were sliding, twisting downwards towards the TARDIS.

Donna laughed as they slid, picking up speed. "Never thought a childhood hobby would prepare me for time travel." She commented.

The Doctor smiled. "Funny how that works innit?"

They had nearly reached the ship. The Doctor pointed the sonic again, and the doors flew open. They swirled around the ship again, and were less than 50 feet from the door which lay dead ahead.

"This is, ah, going to hurt. Probably." He said while shrugging, firing the sonic one last time.

Donna hadn't been conscious of exactly how much speed she had picked up until the invisible shielding that had been supporting her disappeared. She tumbled over herself, unable to control her spin. She tried to see the Doctor, but only caught glimpses of him – he was tumbling as well. It was then she saw something else. The sun glinted off it, making it glow. The Doctor was shouting. She strained to make out what this new object was, and was so involved that she made no preparation to land. Immediately, as she landed full force on the main control panels of the TARDIS, she regretted this. She stood up just in time to see the Doctor, which she also regretted.

He slammed into her chest, his momentum throwing her against the console, and he crumpled to the floor, unmoving but groaning loudly. Donna felt herself bounce off the console and fell as well, clutching her stomach, landing on top of the Doctor. It was then that she finally saw what reflecting the sun.

It was the spear.

The spear, which was lodged straight through the Doctor's thigh.

The spear. Donna felt herself beginning to panic. She scrambled up, unaware of the pain in her back and stomach. The Doctor still hadn't moved, but he was breathing. She knelt and rolled him to his side.

"Doctor?" Donna asked, gently shaking him. "Doctor!"

"Something... something..." He struggled with the words. "Bit me."

Donna smiled nervously. "It was the spear."

"No...", He murmured, "Penguins don't have teeth though, do they?"

Donna ignored him, and examined the wound. Thankfully the spear had missed the bone entirely, and better yet had gone though the exterior side of his leg. Although, she thought ruefully, with her luck it would turn out that his femoral artery was placed outside as well. The wound wasn't bleeding badly, but she worried what would happen if she tried to remove the spear. It was then something caught her attention. It wasn't the spears bouncing off the roof of the TARDIS, or the sweltering jungle heat that poured through the open doors, or even the fact that the only person capable of flying the ship was lying at her feet blithering about penguins.

It was a smell. Bitter and acrid, it smelled like medicine mixed with eggs that had been left to rot in the sun. She carefully examined the spear. The shaft had cracked, and thick brown sap was leaking out. Donna put her hand to her mouth. The crack deepened where the shaft extended into his leg.

"Doctor," She began, "I think you're poisoned."

"Why did you do that?" He asked, eyes wide.

"I didn't!" She replied crossly. "The spear, the wood it's made of is toxic, or it was poisoned."

"Yup," He said, suddenly sounding very much like he should have. "That would make sense, given the flora of this area and the culture."

The Doctor, much to Donna' surprise, stood up. He didn't seem to be in any pain at all as he sprinted and slammed the doors of the TARDIS shut, and strode back to the console. With lightning speed, he entered coordinates into the ship, and started the engines. After these things had been seen to, he turned to her. He was sweating heavily, and his pupils were completely blown, his eyes black.

"You're right. The sap of the spear is poisonous. It's a neurotoxin, and my control over my actions is limited. Which is to say not much at all. Which is to say, none." He gripped her shoulders and looked hard into her eyes, speaking intently. "This is most likely the last time I'll be lucid til you get me to Jack. He'll help. Trust him."

"But what else can I do?" Asked Donna.

The Doctor grimaced. "Remove the spear. But AFTER I've lost consciousness. You hear me?"

Donna nodded dumbly. His grip weakened, and he fell to the floor, lying on his side.

Donna looked around for anything that might help. She rummaged though her bag and found a pack of clean white cloths for removing makeup, a pack of mints, a cell phone, a wallet, 56 pence in small change, and a stone idol.

"Fat lot of good you are now." She said to the stone figurine.

"Don't talk about me like that..." Whined the Doctor.

Donna put the idol back, and knelt down. Again she examined the spear. The obsidian tip, 3 or 4 inches long, had completely cleared his leg. On the other side, the shaft extended a foot from his thigh. The end of it was tied with beads and feathers. Carefully gripping the shaft at the base of the wound with one hand and the beaded end with the other, she gathered her strength.

"You did something to deserve this, didn't you?" She quipped, and quickly snapped the end off.

The Doctor groaned. "Don't touch my arm again!" He pleaded.

Donna rolled her eyes. She took the cloths and placed a pile of them on her lap. The others she rolled into a thick tube.

"Open." She said, extending the roll.

"No!" Shouted the Doctor. "I don't like welsh rarebit because - "

Donna shoved the roll into his mouth.

"That's better." She said with as much false cheerfulness as she could muster.

The Doctor continued his protest of rarebit, oblivious to the cloth.

Leaning over him, Donna gripped the spear's end, brushing off the remaining splinters. She took the other end in her hand, following the shaft of the spear to his thigh. She took a deep breath, and pulled.

The Doctor howled, and began to rock back and forth. Donna scowled, and steadied him by placing her feet on his knees and hip, and continued to pull. It was nearly out. The Doctor's howling had intensified to a scream, and the spear felt stuck. Closing her eyes and silently apologizing, she pulled as hard as she could.

And promptly fell backwards, her head slamming into the floor grating. She sat upright and saw the spear in her hand, half covered in blood. Quickly she scrambled back to the Doctor, and covered both sides of the wound with the white cloths. Slowly but surely they began to soak through. She put the last of them on, and applied as much pressure as she could.

The Doctor was still mumbling through the cloth, with Donna hunched over him applying as much pressure as she could. There was still too much bleeding.

"What am I supposed to do now, Doctor?" She whispered.

He looked at her sadly and mumbled more. Donna reached up and removed the cloth.

"I said, he's staring at your tits."

"WHAT?" Donna raged, raising her hand to slap him.

"Not me not me not me not me!" The Doctor blurted, cringing like a dog and looking over her shoulder.

Donna whipped her head around to a man resting comfortably against the open doors of the TARDIS, one foot crossed over the other. Donna gaped at him.

"Don't mind me miss," Quipped Jack Harkness, grinning. "I'm just here to help."


	2. Chapter 2

Note: Contains a script spoiler from 4x02, The Fires of Pompeii, but not really a plot spoiler.

Of course Jack was worried. He was always worried. But the trick was, he though smugly to himself as he knelt by the Doctor's side, never letting anyone know it.

"He must have been under the influence of the toxin when he input the coordinates, to send us to some voyeuristic pervert." Donna muttered aloud.

Jack looked up at her, one eye brow raised. "And that's a bad thing why, exactly?"

A hand gripped Jack's ankle. "Don't." Said the Doctor in a warning tone.

Jack couldn't suppress a wide grin.

"...drink the water. It's got zebra in it." The Doctor finished.

Jacks grin froze. "He's really out of it. You said something about a toxin?"

Donna handed him the spear. "He got hit with this, here," She said, still holding the bloody rags to his leg with one hand. "And he said that the sap of the wood is a neurotoxin. Said someone named Jack would know what to do, and sent us here."

"Right..." Said Jack, no longer smiling. No sooner had he turned his head to call him, Ianto Jones rushed into the TARDIS. He paused mid stride for a moment to admire the interior, and then continued over to Donna and Jack.

"Hybrid Alien/Human Med Kit. If it's alive by any definition, I've got medicine here to treat it." Ianto said, opening a light green briefcase. "I understand it was a poisoned spear?"

"That's right, it's over there." Donna said. "You must be Jack. I'm Donna Noble. I'd offer you my hand but..."

Ianto didn't smile. "I can see you're busy." He stammered, looking to Jack with pure confusion.

"That's fine with me," Jack said, grinning. "You can be Jack for a day. We can trade back tomorrow."

Donna stared at him. "Don't tell me you're actually who he thought would take care of him."

Jack wasn't listening. "Oh! I'll be Gwen tomorrow. Whadya think?"

Ianto wasn't paying any attention. He had just finished tying a tourniquet around the Doctor's leg, and was now carefully setting a blood sample onto a test tray.

"What's that then?" Donna asked.

"It's a species identity matrix analyzer. One drop of blood and I can know what treatment to begin, and what drugs to avoid." Ianto replied, holding the small plastic card carefully.

No one really expected it to burst into flames, least of all the Doctor who began giggling uncontrollably.

"Ashes, ashes, we all fall..." He sang, trailing off, confused. "Which way do we fall again?"

Ianto started dumbly at his hand. "That never happened to Owen..."

"Yeah." Jack said somberly. "But then again, this Time Lord never had the privilege of meeting Owen."

Jack considered the situation. Torchwood had no data on the medical needs of a Time Lord, and he didn't' know what kind of damage the toxin would do in the meantime.

"Ianto, get a sample of his blood, run it through the full spectrum analysis unit and while it's on, call UNIT. Have them send us all their information regarding Time Lord physiology, and see if the toxin is in our system or theirs."

Jack turned to the Doctor and Donna. "In the mean time, I'm going to stay with him. I'll call Gwen in, she can speak to you Donna."

He looked her in the eyes, holding her gaze. His voice was low. "My name's Captain Jack Harkness by the way, and I will do everything in my power to help him."

"Good." Said Donna warily. "First things, let's move him."

She peered past the doors and smirked. "So does your bat cave have a bed we can use?"

Jack raised his eyebrows slightly. "Of course."

Carefully the two picked up the Doctor, Jack holding him by the shoulders and Donna by his feet. They had barely gotten him out of the TARDIS when Donna shrieked. The Dactyl replied in kind as is sailed past.

"Not so much a bat cave. We're very much pro-time travel here at Torchwood." Jack said casually.

Donna kept her eyes on the dactyl crossly as they carried the Doctor up and into the medical lab. Gently they set him down on the table. The Doctor's eyes were closed, but his eyes rolled under their lids. Jack reached in his pocket and activated his phone. The blue lights on his jaw piece flashed.

"Jack?" Came a sleepy voice. "It's 3 in the morning..."

"Yeah, need you here now. We have two," He glanced at Donna, "VIPs here."

"Ok, be there in 15."

"Make it 10." Jack said, clicking the phone off.

Ianto rushed down the stairs with a thick bundle of paper. He fanned it out on the cabinets, selected a few sheets and brought them to Jack.

"UNIT had plenty on his physiology, but nearly nothing on the toxin." Ianto began, thumbing through the papers. "They've only ever encountered it once, a kid who bought drugs from a rift jumper. The effects wear off within 8 hours for a human male when it's ingested. Given the application here, it should pass within 4-6 hours tops. It causes hallucinations and sedation in humans."

Ianto paused. "That is, if he's similar to us. If not, there's no telling what the drug has done, and if the effects are permanent."

Jack nodded, hands in his pockets. "Any aftereffects?"

"Headache, nausea, that's all that's here." Ianto looked at the Doctor. "However, Doctor Jones made it perfectly clear that in no circumstances can we give him aspirin."

"Aspirin?" Jack and Donna asked at the same time.

"Yes, aspirin, sir. Ma'am." He added, nodding deferentially at Donna. "Apparently his race is highly intolerant of the drug. It's fatal even at low doses, according to their files."

"Huh." Murmured Jack. "Learn something about you every day."

Ianto coughed. "Doctor Jones informed me she's headed up here now, and should arrive within the hour. UNIT is sending her by military jet."

Jack nodded, smiling. "We're only short one now." He whispered to himself.

All three watched the Doctor in silence for a moment before Ianto spoke.

"Who is he, sir?"

Damn, thought Jack. Here was a conversation he'd been hoping to avoid. And at the same time, he felt giddy for reasons he couldn't put to words.

"His name is the Doctor." Jack said quietly, not breaking eye contact with Ianto.

Ianto stared back, trying to cover his emotions. He failed. "The Doctor you left us for?" He inquired softly, hurt.

Jack sighed heavily. "Yes. And he showed me why I had to come back to all of you."

Ianto nodded, clearly agitated. "If you'd care for anything ma'am, please feel free to ask." He said to Donna in passing as he trotted up the stairs and out of the room.

Jack placed his hands on the counter top behind him and looked upwards. "That..." He said to no one in particular, "Could have gone much better."

Donna was busy digging though her purse. "I don't want to hear about your boy problems, y'understand?" She quipped crossly.

Jack stared, mouth slightly agape. The Doctor has once mentioned Donna had a habit of speaking her mind and that she was "a bit" calloused, but he never known him to understate a point to such a degree.

"So. You know about this alien artifacts yeah?" Donna said, placing the figurine on the table. "Why dontcha tell me about this?"

Jack walked over to examine the small idol, and held it in the palm of his hand. It was made of coarse stone that had been worn smooth around it's oversize head. That seemed to be the focal point of it. The body was less than ¼ of the sculpture Jack guessed. The head was perfectly spherical with giant gem eyes, high cheek bones, and a small slit of a mouth. The gems flashed like ovals in the harsh light of the med bay.

"It's cute." Jack said, "Might put it in my garden, keep the gnomes in line."

"Are you capable of being serious about anything?" Donna muttered, snatching the idol back and putting it in her purse.

"Ah, sure he is. Just not, you know," The Doctor sniffed, sitting up. "When you feel he needs to be."

"Doctor?" Jack and Donna asked at the same time.

The Doctor grinned. " 'ello!" He swung his feet over the edge of the table and took stock of his surroundings.

"Really wish you woulda put me somewhere else Jack," The Doctor said, looking warily at the rolling table set out neatly with surgical tools by the bed, and the harsh lighting above. "I have this thing about morgues. And bad surgeons. Well, I say bad, I mean inexperienced."

He went to stand up and promptly sat down, grabbing his leg. "Nice of you two to take the time to get me some pain killers!" He said irritably, voice high. "You didn't even suture the thing! I thought you said this sewer had a doctor."

Jack's face hardened. "We lost Owen."

"I'm sorry." The Doctor said, taken aback by Jack's response.

"Yeah, you sure seem it now." Jack replied with hostility.

"What happened, Jack?" The Doctor asked quietly, untying the tourniquet.

"Grey happened. He bombed the city, held me prisoner, and killed Owen and Tosh."

The Doctor silently regarded Jack.

"Don't you have anything to say?" Jack raged.

"I'm sorry." He said again, tying the tourniquet around the gauze packed on either side of his leg.

Jack spun, his blue coat trailing behind him and walked away. He knew saying what he wanted to wouldn't get him anywhere, but it would have felt good at least in the short term to tell him off.

Donna watched the whole exchange without saying a word, but felt like crying. She understood from his response that whatever events brought the deaths of these two were fixed. Destined. It frightened her, sometimes, that when he looked at her he could see where she began and where she had ended. What had he said? 'What is, what was, what could be...

"... what must not." She finished softly, unaware she was speaking aloud.

The Doctor ran his hands through his hair. "Donna?" He asked quietly

"Yeah?" She turned to him, embarrassed.

"You think you could get me a cup of coffee?" He asked, smiling weakly. "My head is killing me."

"Sure." She said, happy to take her leave. She walked up the stairs, pausing to look over her shoulder. The Doctor sat with his back hunched, head down.

The Torchwood institute was impressive (although she'd never admit it) in a very somber way. The rippling light cast flowing shadows which seemed to match the graphics from the numerous computer consoles. Above, the catwalks only slightly obscured the view of the high ceiling. She didn't see anyone.

"Oi!" She thundered.

Just then, a large circular door rolled away to reveal a small brunette. She smiled at Donna and waved, one hand on her hip.

"You must be one of our VIPs then?" She asked, walking quickly to her. "Gwen Cooper, nice to meet you."

Donna extended her hand. "Donna Noble." She said, smiling.

"So, where's Jack and Ianto?" Gwen asked, peering over Donna.

"I don't know. Doctor sent me out to get a cup of coffee for 'im and I can't find either of 'em."

Gwen's eyes narrowed slightly. "I'm sorry, **the** Doctor?"

"Yeah," Explained Donna for what felt like the hundredth time since she's started to travel with him. "His name is the Doctor. No last name, no first name, just Doctor."

"I really need to speak to Jack." Gwen said hastily.

"And I really need a cup of coffee. Two, really." Donna said.

Gwen took her phone from her pocket and dialed. She tapped her foot impatiently.

"Yeah could you please?"

Donna listened intently.

"Can't you put that aside for a moment?"

Gwen was silent. Donna could hear the man speaking rapidly, clearly upset, but couldn't make out the words.

"Listen, either you do it or I do it and kill both of them, so let's go, OK? We can talk latter, I promise."

She hung up, and looked up expectantly. Within a few moments, Ianto Jones opened an office door and walked out. He glanced down at Gwen, and upon seeing Donna turned his back to her. He raised one of his cuffs to his face and held it there, still walking. He quickly descended the stairs and seemed to have regained his composure by the time he'd reached Donna and Gwen, but the skin below his eyes was swollen.

"You needed something ma'am?" He asked, hands behind his back.

"Yeah,' Donna said, shifting her weight uncomfortably. "Ah, two coffees. If it's not to much trouble."

"Certainly." Ianto said, rushing off. He felt as though he couldn't get away from her quickly enough. He stopped and turned back to them. "Gwen, Jack needs to speak with you. He's in his office."

"Right." She said. Turning her gaze to Donna, she said, "Why don't you go with Ianto while I speak with Jack?"

Ianto cringed. He didn't know the woman, he didn't know that man, but he certainly knew he was responsible for making Jack disappear and that was enough for him to dislike him. And at the same time he couldn't deny he was curious. An idea struck him.

"Right this way, Ma'am." Ianto smiled.


	3. Chapter 3

Donna watched with appreciation as he carefully ground espresso beans. The machine made a low, pleasant hum and crunching noise, and the smell was divine.

"I hope you and your friend won't mind," Ianto said, turning the machine off and lifting the finished product into hopper of the espresso machine. "It's just that I purchased these beans last night, and everything else has been siting in the refrigerator for ages."

Donna waved her hands in front of her. "Not at all," She said, "It smells wonderful, I can't wait."

Ianto smiled smugly. "Well, it should, seeing as it part of my job."

"Seriously?"

"Every office needs a multi-tasker." He shrugged, and said with a hint of sadness, "I'm also now in charge of the computer systems which monitor the rift."

"Right," Donna replied, not sure what to say. "You mean a rift in time and space, yeah?"

Ianto nodded. "That's our purpose – monitor the rift, police what comes through."

"So all those weird things that happened last year, that was you?" She asked.

"Right."

Donna's eyes narrowed. "What about that giant ship this Christmas? The one that nearly hit Buckingham Palace, was that you too?"

"No," Replied Ianto, seeing a chance to discuss what he wanted to. "Although we really would have appreciated if your friend had provided more warning to the queen – she wasn't barely out of the palace when that ship nearly hit it."

Donna was silent, seemingly lost in thought. The water reaching the correct temperature, Ianto started the machine, deftly placing two white wide mugs below it.

"I would have assumed you were with him that day," Ianto said, trying to remain casual, "Am I wrong in assuming you two have traveled together long?"

"We have," She replied, "But I wasn't with him for that. For the better, I think. Never been much one for cruises anyway."

"So how did you meet him?" Ianto pried, trying desperately to keep the conversation light enough to be called 'girl talk'.

"Oh," Said Donna, looking up, "That feels like ages ago, two Christmases past. To make a very long story short, my husband to be and his alien buddy were poisoning me with Huon particles, which turns out to be how that ship over there is powered."

Ianto nodded, intently listening to her.

"So it turns out, his ship is like a magnet for these things, and as I'm walking down the isle, in my **wedding dress**," She swung her hand from one side to the other. "I find myself on that thing!"

"So what happened then?" Ianto asked.

"Oh you know. Saved the day, killed the alien." Donna shrugged. "But after it all, he asked me if I wanted to come with him."

"And so you said yes." Ianto finished for her.

Donna smiled sadly. "Actually, I told him no."

Ianto's eyebrows went up. He turned to the machine, carefully adding milk to a metal carafe.

"Why not?"

"Because he scared me. Still does!" Donna laughed. "He needed someone to travel with him that could keep him in line, and I couldn't then. Martha though, she did him a lotta good."

Ianto froze. Frothing boiling milk spilled over the carafe and onto his hand. It took him a second to realize what had happened. Once he did he howled and pulled his hand away, shaking the last bits of froth off.

"I'm sorry," Donna said, "I shouldn't have been bothering you with all this."

She picked up the coffees carefully. "I'm just going to take these, if that's OK. Thanks so much for them, and sorry about your hand."

Donna carefully walked off while Ianto stood, still watching her unblinkingly. Martha. That's how Jack knew her. He thought back carefully. Jack had never mentioned Martha until his return. That must have been when they met. Slowly, Ianto began to establish a time line in his head, but there were too many parts missing. He felt determined to unravel the mystery. His thoughts were broken by Jack's office door slamming above him. Jack stalked out, walking swiftly downstairs to the vaults.

"Everything alright sir?" Ianto called out, rinsing his hand in cool water.

"Fine!" Jack bellowed. A moment later, Gwen emerged from the office rushing after Jack. She grabbed him by his jacket and whispered in his ear. He couldn't hear what she said, but she looked furious. Jack shook his head, removed her hand, and kept going. She doggedly followed.

So Ianto decided he'd follow as well.

Donna carefully balanced the cups while walking down the stairs. The Doctor sat hunched over with one leg hanging off the edge of the gurney, the other stretched out over a white towel which was flecked with blood. He'd rolled his pant leg up as far as it would go, and was working so intently he hadn't noticed Donna's entrance.

"You alright?" She asked, placing the coffees down on an adjacent table.

"Yeah, fine, you know, having to do my own stitches." He grunted, taking a bit of string in his mouth and biting it off.

Donna looked around, and found a bottle labeled as antiseptic mixed with a topical pain killer. She brought it over and rested it by him. The stitches were jagged and uneven, but they seemed to be holding the wound shut on either side. The Doctor took the bottle and poured the liquid over the exit wound. Despite the pain killers, he grit his teeth.

"You really aren't very good at doing this, are you?" Donna asked.

"I'd like to see you do better." The Doctor replied, grinding his teeth. "Especially when you're doing it on yourself."

"Actually," She said, raising the shoulder of her shirt, "I did."

A thick scar ran across her shoulder, perhaps 3 inches long. It clearly showed the even, tight stitch work that had held the wound shut.

His problems momentarily forgotten, the Doctor eyed the scar with concern. "When'd that happen?" He asked, surprised.

"Egypt." She replied, replacing the shoulder of her shirt. "Went poking around after dark in one of the tombs that are off limits, and got popped by a guard. Problem was though, I couldn't go to a hospital to have it stitched up, so I did it myself."

The Doctor nodded approvingly.

"So that's why I say you're really not very good at this." She finished.

"Remind me to get you shot, stabbed, and run through more often." The Doctor said cheerfully, applying a last layer of dermal bonding agent to either side. "And then you can show me how it's done."

"Nah." Donna said, taking a coffee into her hands. "I'm happy with you taking the hits. I'll sit back, save the day."

The Doctor looked up expectantly at the coffee.

"Yeah yeah, got you one too." She said, passing him a cup.

The Doctor put the cup to his lips. He took a long sip, and stared at it.

"Well this isn't very good office coffee, is it?" He said. "Not bitter or astringent, no bits of bean at the bottom of the cup."

Donna nearly dropped her cup when she realized he was actually disappointed.

Meanwhile, in the Vaults deep within the hub, Gwen Cooper was getting angry. This was an understatement, in truth. She'd been concerned when Jack had told her they had three identical objects matching the stone idol the Doctor had brought, and that they had begun to resonate with the arrival of the 4th , damaging the seemingly invincible locks on the vault. She'd gotten angry when Jack said he was getting them out to examine them, something she argued (quite persuasively, she thought) was not only dangerous, but out of character. She'd dug her heels in until she finally used the analogy she'd been attempting to avoid. Bringing the idols together was as bad as Owen opening the rift, she'd said, holding his collar. The fact that she'd said it, and Jack still hadn't turned back, infuriated her.

The three idols with their gigantic flashing opal eyes sat in a row on a desk. Jack had his eyes closed, listening intently to the low hum coming from them. He picked one up, adjusted it's position so that now they sat in a triangle. The pitch of the hum changed, becoming a chord.

"This is why I don't think they're dangerous." Jack said, hand rested on one of them. "They may have damaged the lock, but now that they're out, nothing."

Gwen eyed the statues warily, as did Ianto from the door. He'd been standing there and Jack had said nothing to him, which upset him.

"Maybe it's a kind of consciousness, broken up among the statues, just wanting to go home." He shrugged.

"I don't care if it's the spirit of Father Christmas Jack, we don't know what they do and," She paused and closed her eyes for a moment. "You wouldn't be behaving so recklessly if that man weren't here."

Jack's eyes flashed angrily at her. "You're questioning my judgment because of a visitor?"

"Oh yes," Gwen replied. "Because he's not any visitor, is he? He's the bloody Doctor, the man who you disappeared with and never explained where you went. He's the man that was supposed to fix you, and then left you the way you are."

Jack glared coldly at Gwen, and then at Ianto. "You feel the same?"

Ianto's mouth opened to say something, but he couldn't get it out. He stood silent.

"You know, you two, you put all this stuff together from **nothing**," Jack said, growing steadily more angry. "You have no idea what he's responsible for, how many lives he's saved, but here you are judging him because I took a holiday."

"And how was that holiday, by the way? According to you wrist computer, you went beyond recorded time, back to earth in the present, and then spent a year walking the earth on foot, and inexplicably went back a year in time!" Ianto said quickly, rushing the words in case his courage failed him before he finished. "And during all that, it was twice modified with a sonic device that at first amplified it's abilities, but then damaged most of the vortex circuitry so that were it used perhaps more than twice, it would fail entirely."

Ianto's shoulder slumped as he took a breath, bracing himself.

"You were spying on me?" Jack growled, his voice dangerously low.

Gwen came to Ianto's defense. "Jack, we didn't know anything! You didn't tell us what happened, and we needed to know."

"Explain to me," Jack thundered, "Exactly why did you **need** to know?"

"Because we care about you, and you disappeared." Gwen said quietly, hoping to diffuse the situation.

"Well seeing as you're all so clever," Jack said angrily, "Lemme fill you in on something. I wasn't -"

"Wearing the strap for most of the year?" Ianto finished.

Jack's stare was burning.

"I got that too." Ianto shrugged. "You didn't think I was paying attention when I studied with Tosh?"

Gwen glanced at him nervously.

"It was a human female who'd traveled in time. Specifically Doctor Martha Jones."

Jack's mouth was now open, as was Gwen's. Ianto, feeling stronger, decided to finish it.

"All we want to know is what really happened Jack. We're not asking for anything other than the truth, and you can't expect us not to ask, especially considering the Doctor is here, in the hub." Ianto paused, and took another breath. "So what I want to do is order a few pizzas, sit down, and talk. All of us."

Jack's frozen face seemed to relax. His body relaxed, and he placed his hands on his hips. "That's what both of you want?" He asked.

Both Ianto and Gwen nodded.

Jack nodded to himself. He looked around the vault sadly. "Things have changed around here, and I suppose," He sighed, "I should too."

It was then that an alarm began ringing, signifying someone using the side entrance, though the shop.

"Just on time," Jack said. "Ianto, go order those pizzas. Gwen, please go greet Doctor Jones. I'm going to go explain this to our guests."

Gwen reached the door of the vault first, with Jack and Ianto behind her. She reached out and quickly opened it, and froze mid-stride.

" 'ello!" Grinned the Doctor, stethoscope in his ears and hand still poised as if the door was still shut. "Did someone say something about pizza?"


	4. Chapter 4

The Doctor kicked his feet up onto the large desk, reveling in the intense relief the pain killers Jack had given him. He pushed the chair back, wove his fingers beneath his head and rocked. Gwen and Martha had left to pick up some Chinese at Jack's request. Ianto had left to pick up the pizzas, claiming that the new courier's bag never held the head well. Jack had left with Donna to get drinks after the two got in a bitter argument over aluminum versus glass at the end of which both vowed not to purchase the other. Smiling, he continued to rock. Thankfully, the three hadn't been too offended at his attempt to figure out what was going on. The only one who seemed honestly upset was Gwen, who while saying nothing to him had proceeded to berate Jack about the incident. Right in front of him! He hadn't even stood up yet. He smile became a grin. She was a good companion for Jack.

The thought resonated in his mind. A good companion. He'd had so many, lost so many. His thoughts turned to Rose. In his mind's eye he could see her again, slightly older, hair longer, the bright and flashy makeup replaced by complimentary neutral tones. It was just as if she was standing in front of him.

Rose blinked.

The Doctor watched her, too shocked to display a response. She turned her head and looked around. He blinked slowly, blinked again. Rose was standing on the table, dressed in a smart tan suit. Her crimson shirt flared over the collar and past the bottom of the jacket. She looked at the Doctor and nodded. Her shoes clinked against the table as she walked across, and stepped down into a chair across from the Doctor. His mouth agape, the Doctor struggled with what he was seeing.

She smiled, seemingly knowingly to the Doctor's eyes, and said in a mock reproachful tone, "You really should've checked the pain killers Jack gave you."

The Doctor said nothing. He was immensely disappointed. He'd been thinking of every barely conceivable if not impossible way in which this could be real, and the realization that she was merely a hallucination was crushing.

"Don't be like that," She chided him when she saw his face fall, crossing her legs and leaning back in the chair. "The universe isn't going to rip itself apart and you get to see me."

"Except that you're not real." The Doctor said with frustration, removing his feet from the desk. "I'm high and talking to myself, this is bloody fantastic."

Rose looked hurt. "You don't believe that."

"Yes, I do." He said crossly, "And I've got to say, if this was Jack's idea of a joke, then he's got another thing coming when he gets back."

Rose laughed. "He hasn't changed much huh?"

"No," He said thoughtfully, "But you have."

"Yeah, how's that?"

The Doctor just shrugged. There was a long pause while he studied his illusion. Were it real, it was what he would have wanted to see. She seemed calm, relaxed. A little older, much wiser, just as he'd hoped. It was then he realized she was mocking his expression. She'd made her lips wide and flat, opened her eyes wide, and furrowed her brows. Not getting the reaction she wanted, she put her hands in her hair, making it stick up strangely.

To hell with it all, thought the Doctor. He smiled, and she smiled, and they both began to laugh.

"I've missed you." The Doctor said, happy to finally say it regardless of the situation.

Rose nodded, smiling softly. "Me too."

Another pause, more smiling. For the first time in ages, the Doctor felt relaxed. Like he could let go of everything.

"Have you even studied the poison from the spear?" She asked out of nowhere, fixing her hair with one hand.

The Doctor thought for a moment, curious why he'd picked that as a topic. "No, actually, I haven't."

"Maybe you should," Rose suggested. "Because certainly you know that the pharmacological identity of a drug will vary greatly by species, especially ones with psychotropic effects."

The Doctor smiled wryly. "You'd never speak like that in a thousand years. I suppose I'm starting to snap out of it."

"You're right," Rose said sarcastically, clearly offended. "I'd never go out, get educated, hold a job worth anything. You think I'm serving tea at Torchwood? Think I'm there saving the Earth with biscuits?"

"This is ridiculous." Said the Doctor as he waved his hand at her in a gesture of dismissal, turning from her. "I'm too old to be arguing with myself."

"I'll tell you what isn't ridiculous," She said angrily, both hands on the desk as she leaned close. "You attuned yourself to a psychic network with a mind thousands of years older than you are now. Then, you reverted back to your current appearance. But you know what didn't revert?"

The Doctor swung back to her, his eyes narrowed into slits. He slowly stood up and stared down at her.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. You hid it from yourself before you even became aware of it, but I've seen it." She stood to meet his gaze head on. "That poison from the spear messed things up again, didn't it? Your subconscious can't hide the change anymore, so you'd better learn to use it."

The Doctor said nothing. The two stared each other down across the table, Rose with frustration, the Doctor with confusion and anger fulled by possible ineptitude. The moment felt like an eternity, and neither said a word.

She vanished, and the Doctor jolted. He looked around, and found himself still reclining in the chair, feet on the desk, hands behind his head. Placing his feet on the floor, the Time Lord leaned forward and let his forehead rest on the desk. It's surface was cool and smooth and when he finally raised his head, damp as well.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Ianto waited patiently for the great round door to roll aside, his arms full with a large silver package. Stepping into the hub, he was stuck by how quiet it was. The silence was deafening to him, and he enjoyed it immensely. He walked to the conference room and took the pizzas out. He looked around, making an inventory of the things he'd need to gather. Satisfied he'd taken everything into account, he started to walk down to the supply cabinets on the lower level. Crossing the catwalk he could have sworn he heard a low hum that he hadn't before. Dismissing it, he continued across.

"Blimey!" The Doctor howled, holding his hand. His sonic screwdriver fell to the floor, and he quickly bent down to snatch it before it fell though the grating. Ianto jumped, and with much irritation he realized he'd just forgotten his list.

"Sir?" He asked, walking up to the Rift Generator. The Doctor was kneeling by the device, glasses propped on his nose as he continued to flash the sonic at it. At his feet were the three idols, one of which lay carelessly on it's side.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to step away from the Rift Generator." Ianto said, putting his most professional foot forward.

"Oh?" The Doctor asked, glancing over momentarily before returning to his work. "Why don't you go ask Jack for me, I'm sure it's fine."

Ianto considered his options. He could allow him to continue, but he felt territorial. This was Torchwood, and he was the visitor. Yes, that was it, he thought encouragingly to himself.

"I'd be more than happy to Sir but until that time, I have to ask you to disengage from whatever work you're involved in." Ianto said firmly.

The Doctor turned around to size up this employee of Jack's that felt comfortable bossing him around. He bristled at the way the young man spoke. His neat suit was tailored, the Doctor noted, and his face was young. His voice was familiar, but the Doctor couldn't place it.

"Have we met?" The Doctor asked sharply, taking his glasses off.

"Not formally, no." Ianto replied. He extended his hand. "I'm Ianto Jones, technical coordinator for Torchwood Three, Cardiff."

The Doctor took his hand. "I'm the Doctor, chief... manager executive of the vortex. Now that we're not strangers, mind if I continue?" He asked, already turning back to the generator.

"Sir, that's the property of Torchwood and guests are not allowed to access sensitive systems."

"Is that so?" The Doctor asked casually, not turning back to him. "In that case, you'd better go make sure I haven't caused any damage to your computer core. I didn't know the passwords so I used my sonic screwdriver on the networking equipment."

The Doctor would have felt very satisfied if the last thing he heard from Ianto was the sound of his footsteps fading out as he bolted for the server farm. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't.

Ianto reached up to his com, holding it to his ear. "Excuse me Sir," He said. "I've got a bit of problem here."

Jack sighed, and motioned for Donna to stop. She looked over curiously as she set down two large plastic bags that clinked against the sidewalk.

"Can't it wait?"

"No sir, I'm afraid it can't. One of our visitors is attempting to modify the Rift Generator."

Jack rolled his eyes, exasperated. "Pass him the com."

"Sir?"

"Just pass him the com, please." Jack reiterated, tapping a button and removing it from his ear. He held it between Donna and himself, putting his finger to his lips, grinning.

"Jack?" Came the Doctor's voice though the com. Jack waited for a beat, then inhaled sharply.

"Quit harassing my boyfriend!" Jack bellowed. Through the com he heard the Doctor fumbling with the earbud, ripping it out as quickly as possible. Donna held both hands to her mouth, trying desperately to not laugh aloud.

Ianto came back over the com. "Thank you sir. Have a pleasant trip home."

"Anytime." Jack said, smiling broadly.

Meanwhile, Martha and Gwen were walking back, each carrying a steaming plastic bag tied neatly at the top. They crossed past the docks, and Martha walked to the railing, putting the bag down. The sun was setting the water on fire as it rose. She breathed the sea air in, closing her eyes.

"I do the same thing." Commented Gwen, standing aside her.

"You guys are so lucky!" Said Martha. "UNIT never has their bases anywhere nice. It's always the same hidden middle of nowhere stuff."

Gwen nodded, and they both watched the water. A deep fog appeared to be rolling in. Gwen narrowed her eyes.

"Well that's unusual." She said, pointing at the fog. "That should be on it's way out, this time in the morning."

The thick wall rolled closer, and Martha could have sworn she saw blue lighting playing within the fog. She narrowed her eyes, observing the billowing wall as it rolled in. Glancing over, she saw Gwen doing the same.

"UNIT makes you as paranoid as Torchwood does us, huh?" Gwen asked jokingly.

"Honestly, no," Martha replied. She sighed and rested her arms on the railing. "Traveling with the Doctor though..."

Martha was silent as Gwen considered what to ask. They both looked out to the fog.

It was Martha that broke the silence. "You know, it's like everything at UNIT is planned for, managed, secured. There's nothing they haven't got a contingency for, seems like." Martha frowned. "And you think that'd be good, but it's so boring!"

"In contrast to?"

"Traveling with him." Martha replied whimsically. "I don't even think I can explain. These terrible things and events just seem to follow him, but you wouldn't want them following anyone else because he's the only one who'll set things right."

"What kinds of things?" Gwen asked, knowing her curiosity had gotten the better of her.

"Like the end of the world." Martha said, turning to look Gwen straight in the eyes.

"You've seen the end of the world?"

"I lived through it," Martha said, her voice suddenly hollow. "And we changed it. Stopped it."

"You and the Doctor?"

Martha nodded. "Well yeah, us, and Jack."

A ten ton hammer hit Gwen straight in the chest. That was it. Everything came together for her in a second, and she hoped Martha couldn't see how stunned she was.

Martha did, but she decided to ignore it. Pushing off from the railing, she picked back up her bag.

"Let's get going, before this stuff gets cold."

The Doctor was holding onto the guard railing with one hand, his body stretched out as far as he could . A few yards away, the dactyl gripped it's perch on the central column, eying him warily.

"C'mere you fossil, that's right, over here." He said in a soothing voice.

The Dactyl stretched it's neck out hesitantly, alternating his gaze between the Doctor and the object in his hand. Keeping himself perfectly still, the Doctor waited. He whistled softly. Quick as lighting, the saurian lept from it's perch and sailed towards him. It snapped it's head forward, straight at the Doctor's open hand. He pulled himself back quickly, laughing. The Dactyl, clearly not amused but happy with his catch, flew up to his perch and began to tear apart the small object. Bits of shining silver paper showered down on the two arrivals. It looked down at Gwen and hooted happily.

The dactyl's unusual hoot caused the Doctor to look down, something that he'd rather not admit he'd been avoiding.

"Martha!" He shouted, tossing himself back over the railing.

"Hey you." She said, waving.

"You needed a doctor and didn't call." She chided him playfully as he came down the stairs.

"Hallucinogen." He shrugged. "How's UNIT treating you?"

"Good," Martha said. "Thanks for the reference."

"Anytime." He said, grinning. The two stood a few feet apart. Gwen watched, intrigued. There was an awkwardness between the two she wasn't expecting.

"So who told you about the Dactyl?" Asked Gwen, plucking a bit of wrapper out of the air.

"Ianto did." The Doctor replied, reaching up to scratch the nape of his neck. "Apparently I'm not qualified to examine the Rift Generator, so I asked him what there was to do. He said, 'Why don't you go feed the dactyl?', so I did."

Martha laughed, but froze when she looked down. Mist covered her feet, lightly tinted blue.

"Gwen?" She asked, pointing down.

She nodded and looked back at the door. Supposedly an airtight seal, the mist was frothing around the edges, creeping in. The Doctor crouched down, glasses off. He extended his hand into the mist and waved it. It dissipated momentarily before converging again, and moving forward. He raised his hand and the mist pulled up from the floor, following him. His eyebrows raised.

He bolted back to the rift generator, picked up the idols, and brought them back to the mist, still slowly encroaching into the hub. He set them on the floor in a triangle. The three emitted a low hum, and the gray mist began to dissipate, allowing a blue glittering trail to rise upwards. It swirled gently back and forth in the center of the three idols.

The Doctor frowned. "We need the fourth idol."

Jack and Donna lugged their heavy bags cheerfully, both having sampled the purchase before heading off. Each would accuse the other of it being their idea. The morning light pierced the dark waters of the dock. Jack opened the side door into the shop, and stopped dead. The room was filled with thick fog, light blue.

"Guessing that's not the usual around here?" She asked.

Jack ignored her and extended his hand into the fog. It seemed to follow his motions, dance. Taking a breath, he stepped in. Despite the fact he was only a foot away from Donna he could no longer see her, nor anything else save the gray swirling fog. It whistled as it blew past, and slowly faded, rolling down the stairs into the hub. Jack reached out, and found Donna's hand. She looked at him with concern as she watched the fog.

"Let's go." Jack said, and together they rushed down into the hub.

The Doctor's head snapped up when he heard Donna's voice. "Donna!" He shouted.

She eyed the idols on the floor, with the blue energy contained within them.

"Pass me the idol from your bag." He said, intently studying the energy.

Jack put his hand to hers. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" He asked.

"Why not?" Asked the Doctor, clearly puzzled.

Jack sighed, and let his hand off Donna's. Slowly she reached in the bag and extended the idol, and the Doctor picked it up gingerly, resting it in the center of the triangle formed by the other three. The hum became a perfect chord, beautiful and resonate. The blue energy began to swirl rapidly, the patterns of blue light becoming more complex. Had they asked the Doctor, he would have told them about the amazingly detailed mathematical functions the light was projecting, and their relevance to the construction of a one way matter transport beam.

However, none of the stunned onlookers could say a word to him, as the Doctor had vanished.


	6. Chapter 6

The Doctor opened his eyes slowly, reaching for his head.

There was nothing to see. He rubbed at them, blinked, and still saw nothing. Slowly it dawned on him that he wasn't just looking at nothing – this was complete and total non-existence.

"Donna?" He called out. No sound came from his mouth.

"Jack?" He tried to call out louder.

The Doctor froze, as a sickening realization came over him. He knew where he was.

The Void.

Inside the hub, the initial shock of the Doctor's disappearance had faded. Donna watched Jack as he checked in on Ianto and Martha, who had been busy analyzing the data gathered by the surveillance systems. She walked up slowly, attempting to not interrupt.

"... So we can say with certainty the teleport had a predefined destination, but not one within the known universe." Ianto was saying, gesturing to a circular representation, it's image crossing three screens. Within each circle smaller were set, with radials that extended, crossed, and merged with others.

"So we can't follow him." Jack said with irritation, re-crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm not sure we'd want to." Martha said. "The way that thing was set up, it was pulling him not only out of known space, but known time."

Jack nodded, and opened his mouth to reply when Gwen called out from across the hub.

"Jack!" She said, eyes transfixed. "You have got to see this."

The four, Donna trailing behind, rushed over to her. She was watching television.

"... and so that's the situation here at Canary Wharf, back to you John."

"Thank you Billy, I'm sure we'll be speaking again soon. To recap, there has been an underground explosion at the reconstruction site at Canary Wharf. Over a dozen workers are missing, and presumed dead. Fire crews have been unable to put out the fires..."

"Reconstruction?" Asked Ianto, eyes glued to the screen.

"... and it is at this time being presumed that another insurrection is underway. Military forces have already secured the area. Torchwood issued a press statement just a few minutes ago, which we have here, a channel 1 exclusive."

Jack's eyebrows rose.

"The Torchwood Institute deeply regrets the loss of life at Canary Wharf. Our hearts go out to the families and friends of the victims. At this time we are not recommending that the public be issued Sepharion weaponry, save those already licensed to do so. We are taking the situation very seriously, and will provide the public with updated information, as it becomes available."

The newscaster paused, taking a breath. "Once again, that's the official statement from Torchwood Chief Executive Officer Rose Tyler, just released minutes ago."

Jack turned slowly to Martha. Her eyes were wide.

"Jack, what's going on?" She asked.

"I don't know." He whispered harshly to her. "It's as though he never stopped the Cybermen."

Martha nodded, and then asked, "So then what about the Daleks?"

Jacks eyes widened, and Martha for the first time saw him afraid. He didn't say anything.

It was then that the four noticed the sound of respirator masks, the hum of energy weapons. Ianto slowly raised his eyes from the television to see a half dozen armed men, dressed in heavily armored black suits. Behind them stood a woman. She met Jack's gaze and smiled, motioning for the team to lower their weapons.

"Rose..."

The Doctor jolted. He'd heard it, clear as day. Jack's voice, low and mesmerized, as if he'd seen a ghost. He tried to relax, to tap into those old days of training in Gallifrey, but it was as though he was blocked. Frustrated, he tried again, but realized that all he could do was listen. Letting his mind drift across the void, the Doctor waited.

"Hi Jack." Rose said, the men breaking rank to let her through. Her gaze briefly rested on Donna, and she looked away.

"What's happened?" Jack asked, placing a hand on Ianto's shoulder.

"Was hopin' you'd tell me," She said, looking around the hub. "Y'see, this base, it's been out of commission for decades."

"What're you talking about?" Gwen asked, laughing. "This place has been running strong for ages."

Jack looked over at her, and the laughter ceased.

"And according to our files here, each one of you is dead."

Jack smirked. "So are you."

A small technician dressed in a loose black jumpsuit came up to Rose, and tapped her shoulder. She bowed her head ever so slightly as she passed her a folder, and pointed down to the ground floor of the hub.

"Tosh!" Ianto yelped, jumping up. Six guns instantly were trained on his chest and he froze. The technician looked over her glasses, expressionless.

"Toshiko..." Ianto said quietly, gazing at her.

The technician glanced at Rose, who murmured something that Ianto couldn't make out. She nodded, and looked back.

"My name is Miss Sato," She said, eyes narrowed. "At least to those I haven't met."

Ianto opened his mouth to speak, but felt Jack's hand dig into his shoulder. He looked up, and saw Jack's face, stone cold.

"She's not our Tosh." Jack said coldly, not looking at her. He kept his grip on Ianto's shoulder, promising himself he'd have time to explain latter.

Martha and Donna stood quietly behind the three, both looking at Rose. Donna leaned in close to Martha.

"I've seen her before." She whispered as softly as she could.

Martha's eyes widened a bit. "He showed you a picture?" She whispered back. "All I knew is that she was blond."

"No, I've seen her. When the Adipose came, you remember that?" Donna whispered back intently. "She was **there**."

Martha was silent. Jack was busy speaking to Ianto and Gwen, while Rose was directing the flow of armed guards carrying large silver crates. The small Asian woman stood to her side, briefing a group of similarly dressed men and women.

"She couldn't have been."

"She was."

"The Doctor said she was trapped in another universe!" Martha whispered harshly.

"I know, he said the same to me. But I'm telling you, she was there." Donna said.

They both continued to watch as the group of technicians surrounded the TARDIS. It seemed that within seconds it had been hooked up to a dozen diagnostic machines that lay ready to use inside the silver crates. It was then they noticed Rose's gaze had turned to them.

She walked up, eying them both. "I know we haven't met," She began tentatively, "But I'm so glad we get to."

Martha extended her hand, and smiled. "I'm Doctor Martha Jones."

Rose gripped her hand and shook. "I see how it is," She grinned. "I always knew I wasn't clever enough for 'im."

Martha smiled. She wasn't what she had been expecting. "Yeah well, I never would have bothered if my entire hospital hadn't been teleported to the moon."

Rose's eyebrows rose. "Seriously?" She laughed. "And I thought living shop dummies were bad!"

"That was you?" Martha and Donna asked simultaneously.

"Yeah, that was how I met him. He blew up my shop." Rose said, eyes upwards. "I think that's how he says hello."

"That and crashing weddings," Donna commented. "Nice to meet you by the way, I'm Donna Noble."

Rose turned to her. "He what?"

"Ruined my wedding first time we met, and the next time I see him he gets me thrown off a 40 story building."

Rose giggled. "That sounds like him."

The three lapsed into silence. It was Donna that finally broke it.

"So where is he?"

Rose's face fell. She gestured over to the relics. "Those relics are part of an ancient security system. They're basically a portable prison." She sighed. "When we brought the set on this earth together, they caused one of our techs to disappear. From what we understood, we should have been able to call him back, but over time the systems in the idols have degraded and failed. We were never able to determine where he was sent."

"So the Doctor is just..." Donna threw her hands out wide. "Out there, and we can't get him back?"

"I didn't say that. We couldn't get our tech back, no. But with the TARDIS..." Rose gestured over to the box, still swarming with technicians. "We might have a shot. Excuse me."

Rose walked briskly off, speaking with the lead technician. She seemed frustrated, and gestured towards the doors. Even from 30 feet away, Rose's sigh was audible. Reaching to her neck, she pulled a small silver chain up and over her head. Slowly she walked to the doors, and placed a hand on the fading blue wood. She paused, silent.

Silent to everyone save the Doctor. He listened to her, heard the things she thought no one else could hear. If that really was her that he saw in the meeting room, the Doctor mused, she should know better. She didn't stop though. In the matter of a few seconds he felt as though he'd read a novel. Finally it stopped, and there was calm. He could feel the racing thoughts of the others, Jack's confusion, Ianto's sadness, Donna's suspicion.

Wait. He stopped, and reached out. Suspicion?

The doors to the TARDIS opened, and Rose stepped inside, flanked by a guard and Toshiko. Jack couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. It didn't feel right, entering when he wasn't around, taking strangers on board. He sighed, feeling sour. Toshiko, the stranger, the thought bitterly.

It was then that his thoughts were broken by Donna, who had come to stand along side him.

"That girl, you know her?" Donna asked, nodding at the TARDIS.

Jack smiled, eyes miles away. "Yeah, I know her."

"What happened to her?" Donna asked, crossing her arms.

"There was a battle, and the Doctor opened a rift into the void. It nearly killed Rose, but at the last moment she was teleported back to a parallel earth."

"And she was trapped there." Donna concluded.

"Yes, she was. How this is possible," Jack said, gesturing to the growing number of black clad Torchwood staff milling through the hub, "It's not. It shouldn't be."

"Why not?"

Jack sighed. "Because the Doctor and Rose were close. You don't even know," He said softly, "How badly he wanted to bring her back, but he couldn't."

"I'm getting pretty used to hearing that," Donna said, " 'I just can't', 'It's impossible', but then it turns out anyway."

Jack turned on her. "This is serious. What's happened here could be tearing two universes apart, and we don't even know how it happened. And if we don't..."

Jack turned silent as a blond man in a suit approached them. In his hands he kept a clipboard tucked to his chest. He didn't look up as he spoke.

"Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper, Ianto Jones, Martha Jones, and Donna Noble?" He inquired.

The group turned to him. "If you'll come with me, Miss Tyler has made provisions for you all at our headquarters. They'll be your permanent lodgings until we have more information. We have a car waiting..." He trailed off, glancing at the group. He turned to leave, seemingly expecting them to follow.

Jack nodded, and they began to walk behind him. Slowing his pace, he fell in line with Martha.

"I don't trust any of this." He whispered, one hand stuffed in his pocket.

"Neither of us do either." Martha replied softly, nodding ever so slightly at Donna who walked aside her.

"When the time's right, we need to see what's really going on." Jack looked down at his pocketed hand, urging Martha to follow his gaze. He had taken his hand out just enough to show what he'd been concealing in his palm. The deep blue of the sonic's primary emitter seemed to glint in Martha's eyes. She looked back up, and nodded solemnly.


	7. Chapter 7

"Right this way please." Said the man, opening a thick oak door. Behind him the five walked quietly, Ianto and Gwen together in front and Jack, Donna and Martha trailing behind.

The hallway was dimly lighted with thick carpeting and expensive moldings following the edges of the walls. Set along were more of the same oak doors, each one controlled by a biometric keypad set adjacent in to the walls, glowing dim solid blue.

The man stopped, pressed a finger to the door. The panel chimed softly, and the door clicked.

Holding the door open seemingly proudly he said, "Your rooms."

Gwen walked in first. A hallway lined with mirrored closets opened into a large sitting room, completely furnished in leather and suede. The windows showed a beautiful view of the courtyard where their car had parked, it's engine still running.

"This is..." Ianto began, running his fingers over the granite kitchen tops, "Impressive."

Martha entered cautiously, glancing in corners and eying the mirrors with suspicion. Donna however pushed by her and flopped herself onto one of the couches with her head back, eyes closed. She sighed contentedly.

"What?" She asked Martha, feeling her gaze. "Might as well enjoy it, not much else to do, is there?"

Jack had taken another hallway back, into the flat. There were a total of 6 bedrooms, three on either side of the hallway. Each had been furnished in the same expensive manner. As he walked back he noticed a small closet door, and opened it. Inside were four computers, with a monitor and keyboard stowed on a floating arm. Unfolding them out, he hit a key and the screen lit up.

"Courtyard, ocean, prairie?" He muttered, reading to himself. The menu itself was painfully simple, something out of the old DOS days. He sighed. There was nothing to hack at here, even if he had the skill to do so. It's list went on for ages. Bored, he selected 'Moonscape' and hit the return key.

It was then that his boredom was broken by Martha's shout of surprise.

Upon exiting the hallway Jack found Martha glaring accusingly at the Torchwood representative. Ianto and Donna stared slack jawed at the windows, which showed a whole new scene. Craters pocked the gray ground, and the sun threw dramatic shadows that went uninterrupted for ages it seemed. And on the horizon a new light was rising, soft and blue.

"I don't understand why you're upset ma'am," The Rep was saying calmly, gesturing to the windows. "This technology is state-of-the-art and designed to minimize the effects of working in underground facilities."

Martha's hand remained on her hip as she jabbed a finger at the rep. "I don't think you understand, mate," She said angrily. "This, this isn't funny. At all. So why don't you go ahead and change it, and remove 'the bloody moon' from the scene rotation yeah?"

"I'll have a technician sent down right away." He said in his best corporate apologetic tone.

Jack turned his head to find Gwen at his side, her small hand on his wrist. She looked up at him expectantly.

"We'll talk, I promise." Jack said quietly, pretending to be engrossed in the drama between the rep and Martha. "As soon as we're sure this place isn't bugged."

Gwen nodded as she let go of his wrist, and walked to the kitchen where Ianto was admiring the coffee machine. Jack, giving Martha his best 'quit making a scene' face, walked to the tech, and put his hand on his shoulder, turning him toward the door.

"You know, they're all just a little shaken up by all this," He said cheerfully, "and they just need some time. Oh!"

"Yes?"

"Some biscuits and clotted cream." Jack whispered, eying at Martha's direction. "Her favorite."

The man bristled at being treated like room service. "Of course, sir."

"Thanks." Jack said, beaming at him as he showed him the door. Once he had shut it, he let himself fall against it, resting his weight. It was then he saw four pairs of eyes looking at him. He considered each set briefly.

"What?" He asked, resigned to what he full well knew was coming.

Rose Tyler sat, her eyes fixed ahead staring at nothing. Her desk was covered in manila folders, each containing reports on the TARDIS, it's subsystems, and it's owner. She wasn't sure why her assistant has brought the reports on the Doctor, seeing as she'd written nearly half of the file when she'd started. She was new, she thought to herself, and didn't know better. Through the narrow slivers of the glass desk not covered she looked at her feet, propped up on the steel framing. Around her whole walls were steaming with information, camera footage, rift statistics and spikes. Sometimes, when she was alone, it was as though the round room was an entity unto itself, and didn't require it's occupant to run Torchwood. She sighed, knowing it was true. At least, it was true since they came. Absentmindedly she flipped open the Doctor's file. The first page consisted of photos used to identify him.

So many faces, she mused. So many men she never knew. Of course, she'd read about them all, knew their personalities and profiles by heart, like many other employees. She touched one of the photos, thinking back to the time she'd spent with the man who laughably claimed to be an alien when she'd seen a northerner in a leather jacket and black jumper.

The Doctor coughed, and Rose jumped from her seat. She backed up until her seat hit the wall, eyes wide.

"Someone's jumpy yeah?" He said, reaching out for a folder. His jacket creaked as if it were brand new as he lay back into his chair, flipping though the reports.

"Wrong." He said, tossing a report out. The papers scattered as they hit the floor. Rose slowly began to recover from her shock, and sat down, rolling the chair back to her desk.

"You can't be here." She said, watching as he tossed another report onto the floor.

"Absolutely right." He replied, not looking up. "But I'm not the sort of person who let's things like 'can't' decide how I live."

"How is this possible?" She asked, reaching across the desk to take the folder from him. He pulled it back just out of her reach. His blue eyes flashed at her, catching the light from the wall displays.

"Because I'm clever, that's why, brilliant some have said, myself included" He replied, laying the folder down on the desk just out of her reach. "But certainly clever enough to take your advice."

Rose was quiet.

"You didn't actually think that'd work, did you?" He asked, voice patronizing and sarcastic. "The void... Hmph!"

"It was the best we could do to accommodate you in the -" She started, regaining her composure.

"Accommodate?" He asked, sarcasm touching his voice. "Explain to me how you worked that out. Please, because I'd love to hear how trapping someone in a delusion they're in the **void** is at all in any way accommodating."

Rose was silent. She was growing resentful of this psychic intrusion.

"Had things worked out the way you said they had, none of this -" She threw her arms open to the room, "Would be necessary."

"What'd you mean, necessary?" He asked, eyes locked on hers.

Rose's hands felt to her side. "How can you not possible know what **you** are responsible for?"

"If memory serves, I was responsible for saving you, and both planets."

"Wouldn't it have been nice if it'd worked out like that?" Rose said sadly, her eyes gazing past the Doctor.

"Rose, tell me what's going on. You know I'd," The Doctor paused. "I'd do anything to help you." He finished softly.

The Doctor watched with hidden confusion as Rose stood up taller, and rolled her shoulders back to look down on him. "I think you've done enough." She said coldly.

"You know, I picked this form because I thought," He said, his voice becoming progressively more high, his cadence faster. "That you'd be more inclined to be honest. Which is silly, really. I mean, what's in a face?"

He ran his hand over his head, and short dark hair gave way to longer, lighter brown. Were it any other time, Rose would have laughed at the absurdity, but now her eyes seemed to burn as she watched him. Stupid, childish tricks.

"Oh ri-ight." The Doctor said, taking a hand to his forehead and sweeping it down. The war veteran was replaced with the young man and his eyes, now brown, seemed to have never broken their gaze with her.

"More what you were expecting?" He asked, smiling. "I'm going to keep the jacket if you don't mind, because all this jiggery pokery is really taking from my point, which is..."

He turned and gazed at the screens, the cascading data that told him what he wished he never knew. His smile fell as he read.

"Which is, Rose Tyler, stay out of my way." His face was suddenly cold, his eyes fiery as he turned back to her. "I might not have all of the puzzle, but I have enough to know what's happened here is wrong. Very wrong."

He turned his gaze on her and she did all she could not to shrink from it. His expression was conflicted, disappointed and furious. "You get one warning," He said intently. "Just one. Get out of here, Rose."

"You don't understand," She began, taking a step forward.

"You're right." He said quietly. "I expect you to explain it to me latter. But for now..."

His gaze returned to the life signs. "For now, Rose Tyler..." He walked around the desk, and took her hand. For a moment she allowed herself to feel relieved, as if she was back to being a 19 year old girl.

The Doctor eyes burned, and his voice was a growl. "Run."

The Doctor vanished, and Rose stood stunned and deafened as alarms rang out. Three panels of her walls were flashing red, and voices intermixed over the intercom.

"... has broken out from secured med bay #12. We need..."

"There are two weevils loose in research lab alpha! Someone..."

"Power flux detected in Auxiliary Generators. Overload is imminent. All nonessential equipment will be shut down in 15... 14..."

Rose grit her teeth, and threw her fist into the desk. The glass ground against the steel with the force of her blow. Folders fell to the ground.

"I'm through running!" She declared loudly, her eyes locked at the empty seat in front of her desk.

Jack awoke seconds before the alarms went off. He didn't know why, but lately it had gotten worse. He'd twitch before something broke, know what someone was saying before they said it. He sat at the edge of the bed, looking towards the door. Ianto snored loudly and rolled over, taking full advantage of the covers Jack had left. Looking over his shoulder, Jack smiled as the alarms began to blare.

Martha rose calmly as the voice from the intercom woke her, it's voice deep but louder than the alarms.

"All residents are advised to stay in their rooms. Please ensure all entrances are locked for your safety. Thank you."

Reaching over the side of her bed for her pack, black leather battered by the elements, Martha moved swiftly to the hallway where she found the rest of the group milling in the living room. Donna's face was twisted into a grimace, and she glared at the speakers set into the walls. Gwen was hastily pulling on her boots. Jack stood by Ianto in the kitchen, who was drinking a cup of last night's coffee with a dour look on his face.

Jack caught Martha's eyes and waved. "Weren't we saying we wanted to have a look around?" He asked, smiling. As suddenly as they had began, the alarms cut off. The wall panels also shut down, leaving the room dark save dim red emergency lighting from the corners.

"What now?" Donna grumbled, directing her cross stare at the lighting.

"That's emergency lighting... each unit has it's own power supply that's activated when main and backup power fails." Ianto said as he finished downing the coffee and turned to Jack.

"Meaning?"

"Meaning..." Jack and Martha began at the same time. Each looked at the other with mild surprise, and Jack shrugged his deference to Martha.

"Meaning that we're in trouble." Martha said, looking at each person with her. "But, it's also an opportunity. We'll be able to check out the facility without having to worry about anything save a deadlocked door."

"Which would mean someone would have to be behind it to deadlock it in any event." Gwen said, standing up.

"Exactly." Jack said. "But the five of us running together will be too obvious."

Martha nodded. "Unfortunately we don't have much of a choice. Our only objective is to exit this facility as quickly as possible."

"What about the TARDIS and Rose?" Jack asked quietly.

"What about it?" She snapped back. "They have a key, so locking it is no good, and we can't move it."

"There's got to be something we're missing." Jack insisted. "And Rose knows. We need to find her."

Martha didn't attempt to hide her aggravation. "You want to go looking for Rose? Fine. I'm getting out of here, and finding UNIT. If things are even remotely similar on this world, they'll help."

Martha's sharp turn to leave was halted by Jack's hand on her shoulder. He spun her back to face him.

"Don't even let this be an issue." He growled. "Not now!"

"The only person it seems to be an issue with," She spat back. "Is you."

She took a breath, and began again more calmly. "Look, Donna told you what happened when the Adipose came. We know that she's got something to do with what's going on, and we can't trust her. We need to get out of here, Jack."

Jack shook his head. "Rose would never knowingly do something to hurt any of us, but you are right." He conceded, sighing a little. "She does know something, and that's why we have to find her."

"Then let's quit talking and go." Donna said, still aggravated. "You two can bicker and argue about your girlfriend latter."

Martha's eyes grew wide as she turned to face Donna, while Jack's head fell a little as he laughed.

"She's totally going with me." He said, grinning. "Ianto, Gwen, go with Martha."

As one, Ianto and Gwen opened their mouths to protest, but Jack cut them both off.

"I can't risk losing you both." He said quietly. "Go with Martha."

The five muttered goodbyes as they separated in the hallway. Ianto looked over his shoulder to catch a glimpse of Jack, but he'd already reached the lift. He sighed as he heard it activate, swooshing up.

"Hurry up." Martha snapped.

Ianto bit his tongue and walked faster. "Yes ma'am." He said smoothly.

"Weevils! Help! Anyone!" Came a cry from down the research hall. The shrill voice seemed to echo and resonate down throughout the labs. There was silence, and then the sound of boots marching in rhythm over the marble floors.

"Who's there?" Came a voice, deep and booming.

A man burst through a lab door into the hall. His hair was flat and dark, and stuck to the sides of his head. He slammed the door shut behind him, looking up at the security contingent. Doing so forced him to adjust his glasses and squit.

"Oh thank GOD you're here!" The man blurted, his voice shaking. "I don't know where they came from, there are weevils in the lab, I thought it was safe but they started tearing their way through the door!"

"How many?" The guard asked, nodding to his men. They flowed past him into the lab.

The man grabbed the guards shoulders, eyes wild. "I couldn't count, I was too scared. I'm just a lab tech, it's my first week!"

The guard brushed the man off and laughed to himself as he stumbled on his white jacket and nearly fell over. "Just let us take care of this then. You report to floor 5, they're doing debriefing and reassignment."

With that, the guard entered the lab as well, his rifle now up and at the ready. The room stretched on for an impossible distance, filled with tables and medical equipment. Another guard trotted up.

"Sir! No sign of any aliens."

"Are you sure?" He asked.

"Sir, yes sir."

"That might be because there weren't any." Came a voice from aside them, no longer panicked or shrill.

Both men spun to face the technician. He smiled, one hand on the door. Both froze for a gunslinger's second. The guards lost. The door slammed shut. The guard rushed his hand towards the knob, but before he could reach he heard a soft whir. He pushed with all his weight at it, yelling.

Smiling, the Doctor shrugged off the technician's lab coat and went to toss it on the floor before thinking better of it. He crammed it in his jacket pocket, tucking the sonic on top. He ran his hand through his wet hair, fluffing it as he walked down the hallway.

Too easy, he thought. Much too easy.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Gwen and Ianto stood silently, their backs to the wall. Next to them Martha crouched, her ear to a thick steel door. Slowly she rose and raised her hand to them, three fingers up. Gwen and Ianto nodded. They had no weapons, but the element of surprise was with them. Yes, Martha thought to herself. We can do this. Slowly she extended her hand to the knob, and rested her hand on the cool surface. Again she raised her hand. Three. Two. One.

The door burst open. The three guards turned on them, but they were too slow. Martha's foot caught on in the chest, knocking him to the ground. Gwen stepped aside to dodge another's punch, grabbing his arm and twisting. The man cried out as she lowered him to the floor, one arm around his neck. The last guard turned to run, but found himself face to face with Ianto, who deftly applied a choke hold. The man collapsed.

Ianto put his hands on his hips and took a breath, and nearly was hit in the chest with the rifle Martha tossed his way. He carefully stepped over the bodies, having to stop suddenly when Martha threw a small black case to Gwen.

"10 cc, any major artery'll do." She said, taking the cap off a syringe with her teeth.

Gwen looked at her, aghast. "We can't kill them." She said, as Martha knelt down, flicking a man's neck as she positioned the needle with the other.

Martha stared intently at the work in front of her to keep herself from rolling her eyes.

"Do I look like the murdering type?" She asked, the needle slipping into the man's neck slowly.

"It's a sedative." Ianto said, taking the case from Gwen. Opening it, he found nine filled syringes, each with 50 cc of clear liquid. He took two, removed the caps, and passed one to Gwen.

Martha nodded. "That lab we passed a few minutes back, they kept these in the emergency box. 50 cc worth is enough to knock out most weevils long enough for help to arrive."

"And a fifth of that dose is enough to knock a human out for hours." Ianto finished.

Martha looked up. "Experience?"

Ianto deftly injected the man closest to him in the arm. "Do I look like the recreational drug using type?" He said, a light smirk on his face.

"If you can shoot up like that," Martha said, rifling through the unconscious man's pack, "then maybe."

Ianto shrugged, picking up one of the rifles. They were massive in his hands, but impossibly light. Gwen adjusted her shoulder strap before taking the rifle, aiming it at the wall.

"Sepharion rifles?" She inquired.

"One can imagine..." Ianto said. "But that is what they mentioned on the television."

Martha straightened up, adding what she'd scavenged to her bag. Slinging the rifle over her shoulder, she waved to the other two, and together they continued down the corridor.

"So how exactly are we going to find this girl again?" Donna asked, walking quickly to keep stride with Jack.

"Not sure. But we're bound to find something, right?" He said, smiling over his shoulder.

"We'd better." Donna grumbled.

They'd passed through what seemed like a hundred different laboratories, all the same but just a little different. Millions of dollars worth of equipment adorned each, but the one they were passing through now caught her eye.

"Isn't that an MRI?" She asked, stopping.

"Yeah..." Jack said. "Must be one of their xenobiology labs."

Donna raised her eyebrows at him. Jack gazed at her.

"Oh." He said after a moment.

"Yeeeeah." Donna said, continuing forward. "Let's find where they keep their patients."

Across the hallway from the labs were a series of small rooms, each crammed with medical equipment with the beds shoved into the corners like an afterthought. Jack's expression hardened as they examined the rooms. There were claw marks on some of the steel gurneys, or perhaps bite marks.

"Jack!" Donna called. He hurried over to the next room. Donna stood, staring at the floor. Stuffed under the bed there was an overcoat. Jack knelt down, and gingerly picked it up, feeling the worn fabric in his hands.

"He was here." Jack said, eyes not moving from the brown coat. "We need to hurry."

Ironically, at that moment, being hurried was the one thing the Doctor was not. He'd ended up putting the lab coat back on, and had again plastered his hair to his head with some water from an eye washing station. He hadn't realized that by shutting down the power systems he'd also shut down the water, but thankfully the emergency stations still worked. Casually he'd followed the signs to the lift, laughed silently to himself about the domestics of standing waiting for the doors to open, and put his best 'terrified new tech' face on when they'd opened again on floor 5.

Two guards flanked the door. The one to the left spoke. "If you were hurt, go to section 3. There's a triage there. Otherwise go to section 1."

The Doctor nodded dumbly and walked forward, doing his best to adjust his usual confident gait to that of a terrified 30-something. He joined a throng of people heading into section 1. They filed past massive double doors into a vast storage area, easily the size of a half dozen football fields, the entire space domed in shining glass. No supporting girders, the Doctor noted to himself. More surprising was that there was nothing in the gigantic room. It was large enough to accommodate a small spaceship, but there was nothing but the glass ceiling and the hard, reinforced floor. The dusky light of sunset cast a red glow through the room, casting thin shadows from the two hundred or so people clustered in the middle of the room, who were chattering away nervously.

Their chatter was broken by a deep rumbling. From below them, what started as a tremor became an earthquake. The staff turned to run to the exits, but thick metal sheets lowered swiftly to cover them. The Doctor took his glasses off and watched the floor as a ten foot by ten foot section lifted and split cleanly down the middle, propelled by nothing visible. The two sections gridded clear, and rested themselves on the floor.

Rose emerged first, calmly surveying the crowd which had begun walking towards the platform raising from the floor. She turned and ducked her head to speak to someone – the Doctor couldn't see who. That didn't stop him from worrying though. His 'friends' had an awful tendency to be short, he thought to himself wryly.

The platform continued to rise at an agonizingly slow pace. Finally, he could see. It was a woman, her face drawn and pale. Tubes ran from her nose, and her hair had been purposefully done up to hide numerous electrodes attached to her skull. Even from the distance, the Doctor could smell something acidic and darkly chemical. It was faint, nearly overpowered by the mass of people with their colognes, perfume and sweat, but it was there. And he'd smelt it before, he was sure.

He peered intently at the woman as the platform rose to it's final position and stopped. She was seated in a wheelchair that had been specially designed to carry a full compliment of medical equipment. Her lower body was shielded from view, covered in a metal latticework to which numerous blinking deceives were attached. She seemed impossibly old, her hands and face a mass of wrinkles and age spots. Her eyes were bloodshot, and heavy bags surrounded them – it was as though she hadn't slept in weeks. Despite her appearance she seemed alert, whispering back to Rose and eying the crowd critically. The Doctor rubbed his neck with his hand, tilting his head for a better look. Where had he seen her before? Had he?

Rose raised her hands, lowering them slowly and causing the crowd to become silent. Taking a deep, rattling breath, the woman spoke.

"Harriet Jones." She said stiffly, voice like gravel. "Senior Executive Officer, Torchwood One."

The crowd was silent. A man coughed, and a few looked to Rose, clearly confused.

"I understand that for many years you've been under the command of Miss Tyler. And she," Jones paused, taking another breath. "Has been under my command, and has served just as admirably as every single one of you."

She paused, smiling at the crowd, and then up at Rose.

"Unfortunately, you have failed us. Every. Single. One." She continued in the same, even tone. "I regret to inform you that effective immediately, all employees present have been terminated."

The crowd was so shocked they didn't notice the shadows. They'd even escaped the Doctor's notice til now. Peering up, he watched as the skies darkened with thousands of specs, specs which slowly lowered closer to the building. In perfect formation they lowered, eight by eight a hundred times over. And then there was the sound. From a distance, it was like drums, so even and punctuated, so rehearsed and precise.

"I am so sorry dear." Harriet said to Rose quietly, her hand touching hers. "But loosing the Doctor? Unacceptable."

Rose's eyes became huge. She looked up, now seeing what was descending.

"How could you?" She hissed, her face inches from the hag. "We had a deal!"

"I do not deal with inferior species. You failed to serve your purpose. I would suggest you try better in the future, but I doubt you'll have the opportunity." Jones reached to touch her face, and Rose jerked away. "Such a lovely girl, what a pity."

With that, Harriet Jones vanished in a series of streaking blue light.

Rose looked up again, and heard the sound clearly now. The other employees were running, screaming, clawing at the exits. Only Rose and the Doctor stood still amidst the chaos, watching, listening.

"Exterminate!"

"Exterminate! Exterminate!"

The Doctor couldn't stand to look at them anymore. His blood boiled, and he looked toward the platform. Rose was staring at him, eyes wide and frightened. He ran toward her, and she stood still, shocked. Grabbing her wrist he spun her and dragged her with him. As he ran, he looked at her. The Daleks had turned her skin white, and her hand was shaking.

"I thought I told you to get out of here!" He roared. She cringed, but turned to face him, panting.

"I didn't have a choice!" She responded. Above, the Daleks were closing in, yards from the roof. Some of the people had begun to scream and beat on the doors.

He glared at her. "You always have a choice." He said harshly.

"Do you understand how many years I've spent calling for you?" She asked, tears in her eyes.

The Doctor stumbled, but kept running. "Years?"

"Yes, years! It's been ten years Doctor. When this started, I tried to reach you. I needed you!"

Finally they reached the door. The Doctor rested one hand on it while reaching for his sonic with the other. He kept his gaze, however, on her.

"How long were you trying to reach me?"

"Five years. Five years before they caught me, and set me up as Torchwood's dummy CEO, just so they could keep tabs on me." She said bitterly, eyes downcast.

The Doctor was running his sonic over the edge of the door. The chanting of the Daleks was become louder.

Rose was looking up. "If that roof breaks..."

"I know!" Growled the Doctor, his teeth bared at the unmoving door. Rose looked with renewed shock as he deactivated the sonic.

He aimed the sonic upwards. "Cover your ears!" He shouted.

It didn't help. The sound was like razors in her mind. She crumpled as the Doctor stood, the sonic shaking his whole arm. She looked up, waiting for the noise to abate, but it continued. The Doctor didn't hear anything. All he felt was rage at the creatures above them, fear for the people with him. There was a great cracking sound like icebergs breaking apart as the roof began to fracture.

"You're going to kill us!" Rose shouted. He didn't seem to hear her. The cracking grew louder, even over the din of the sonic. Below the blue tip it began to glow orange, then red.

It was then he turned to her. "Never." He said quietly, strangely audible to her.

His eyes back on the Daleks, he watched with a wicked grin as the roof exploded upwards, shards of molten glass flying straight up towards the Dalek's energy thrusters.

"Alert!"

"Primary energy thrusters damaged! Descend!"

The Daleks broke formation, some flying off while others tumbled to the ground. Some lost control, crashing into their brethren.

The Doctor laughed at them, but stopped when he lowered his sonic. The blue light blinked feebly, the setting below it slowly melting, causing sparks to erupt as molten metal dripped into it's core. He gazed at it sadly as the light blinked more slowly, and then stopped.

"Doctor!" Rose cried, throwing herself at him. An out of control Dalek was careening out of the sky, straight at them. They crashed to the floor, the Dalek sailing above them at breakneck speed, right into the door. The metal crumpled around the damaged droid, folding over it as it bounced and sparked to a stop a few meters down the hallway. Other damaged Daleks had crashed through the floors and walls, and desperate employees were scrambling out of the hall.

Rose felt the Doctor take her hand, and drag her to her feet. He began to run again, down the hallway. Desperately he tried even door they came by, but each was locked. Finally they'd reached the end of the corridor, the emergency stairs. He tugged on the handle, then threw his fist into the door. Nothing happened. He tugged at his hair, frantic.

"You're hurt." Rose said quietly, looking at the Time Lord's face. Dark red blood dripping from his ear had caused his sideburns to become matted, and it continued down his neck. Slowly the Doctor's hands fell, running down the sides of his head, past his ears and to his neck. Pulling one hand away, he gazed at the streaks of blood on his palm dumbly.

"Must have been the sonic." He mumbled numbly. "Not that it matters."

He rested his head against the door, defeated. The shrieks of the Daleks were closer. There were re-organizing, and soon they'd find them. It was over, and he hadn't -

Rose jumped as the door opened inwards, and the Doctor fell forwards. He looked up in shock as he was caught, right into the eyes of Ianto Jones. He smiled slightly

"Nice to see you again, Sir."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

(Note: Apologies for the short chapter, but I wanted to do it this way rather than end up with a chapter that's 10 or 12 pages long.)

"You're going the wrong way." Quipped Donna, walking quickly to keep up with Jack.

He exhaled, frustrated. "No, I'm not."

"Sure, don't listen to the person that's been living in industrial designed buildings for ten years. I'm sure she wouldn't know anything."

"Now really isn't the time..." Jack mumbled, eyes on a junction in front of them. The hallway split into three corridors, each as bland and featureless as the rest. Along the wall, a map sat in a cheap plastic mount.

Donna barely glanced at the sign, and continued straight ahead. As she passed Jack, he raised his head to say something, but decided it was easier simply to give up. He trotted to catch up to her, and they continued down the hallway in silence.

The Doctor stared up in wonder at Ianto Jones, trying to regain his balance. He felt Rose take his hand and pull him to his feet. He couldn't have been more happy to see Martha, and Gwen as well.

"Right." The Doctor said, tugging at his jacket and then calmly smoothing his tie. He smiled at his new companions. "Run!"

He bolted down the stairs, careening madly. Martha kept right behind him, with Rose, Ianto and Gwen in the rear.

"Where are we going?" Called Ianto, too out of breath to add 'sir'.

"Down!" The Doctor hollered back.

Rose turned to Ianto as they rounded another landing. "The TARDIS is down there." She gasped, her hair partially obscuring her face as they ran. Ianto said nothing, watching the woman. He'd never trusted someone less in his life but here she was, running with them.

"Here we are." Said Donna proudly, arriving at a seemingly unimportant door, no different than the dozens they'd passed before.

"The central staircase." He said, working out the map in his mind.

Donna nodded, smiling.

Jack grinned. "Let's go." He opened the door, then bowed, extending his hand. "Ladies first."

Donna eyed him critically, but stepped through the open door, just in time to hear a whooshing sound above her become very loud, and very painful.

Having just sprung over another railing onto the stairs below him, the Doctor had very little control over where he was going to land – especially when Donna Noble stood exactly where he had anticipated to be standing himself. He tried to call out, to warn her - "Donna, watch out!" Unfortunately, and much to the Doctor's aggravation, all that came out was a high pitched yelp as his feet slammed into Donna's chest, throwing her backwards into Jack. The Doctor leaned forward in a desperate attempt to latch onto the door jam, but his momentum propelled him forward. He actually wasn't very clear on what happened after that, but he was sure how it ended.

The Doctor's feet were rested on Donna's stomach as he lay flat on his back, staring up at Martha and Rose, who'd arrived first to the accident. Below Donna was Jack, trying his best to push himself to a sitting position.

Donna swung around as he struggled. "You pervert!" She howled, slapping him across the face. Jack turned his head back, grinning.

"You know, I once read that people see what they want to see."

"Meaning?" Donna asked threateningly, raising her hand again.

Jack shrugged, deciding that one slap was enough (For now, that was – he made a mental note to mention the incident to Ianto later), and pulled himself free. The Doctor was still looking up towards Rose and Martha, who'd been joined by Ianto and Gwen. He couldn't suppress a wide grin as he caught their eyes.

Reaching to his head, the Doctor rolled over, groaning. He rested on one arm, pushing himself up. Rose and Martha stood next to him, each with their hands extended. Reaching up groggily, he grabbed Martha's hand and she hauled him up.

"Jack!" He said happily. "And you've got my coat. Brilliant!"

Jack passed the jacket to him. "I also have something else of yours." He said, reaching into his pocket and producing the Sonic Screwdriver. Rose's eyes grew large when she saw it, and she stepped back unconsciously.

The Doctor stared incredulously. "What?"

"What do you mean, 'what'?" Jack asked. "I picked it up after you disappeared. You had to have known it was missing."

Frowning, he took the screwdriver from Jack. It was of the exact same design as the one he'd held minutes ago. Slowly he turned the top, and it emitted a low whine. He held it to his ear carefully.

"Doctor -" Jack began.

"Shhhhhhhh!" He hissed, eyes closed.

"This isn't possible." He murmured, spinning the sonic between his thumb and index finger. This screwdriver was a year old – the exact same age as his previous. The same grip, the same crystalline emitter, even the same gentle wear marks on the grip.

"We can work it out later, right?" Asked Rose, looking up the stairwell apprehensively.

The Doctor nodded. He smiled at the group. "Alright gang, and I really, honestly hate that word, to the TARDIS!"

As he throttled down the stairs again, the Doctor kept his grip on the screwdriver. His suspicions had finally been confirmed, but he had to wait. His grip tightened. She'd lied to him, again. But this time, he wasn't angry. In fact, he was elated.

They finally reached the bottom of the stairwell. The door easily gave way to the sonic, opening into a spacious laboratory. It's broad, circular room was equipped with the most modern technology of the time, plus a few items the Doctor didn't immediately recognize. The TARDIS sat in the middle, it's door open and held in place by bundles of thick wiring. Clean white light spilled from it in sharp contrast to the dim lighting of the lab. The Doctor bounded forward, swinging his arm up beckoning the others to follow.

He'd never felt better to step foot into the TARDIS. He stood at the entrance, gazing happily at the time rotor. Now he could get to the business of setting things right, he thought cheerfully. Now he -

His thoughts were cut short by a shoulder slamming into his arm. Gingerly he pulled it away to see Donna rushing by, followed by Jack, Rose, Martha, Gwen, and lastly Ianto. What quiet peace he'd experienced was cut short by bursts of chatter, the noise of boots and heels on the deck, and most certainly, by him.

"Ok, ok, so, first things first. Don't. Touch. Anything. Unless I tell you to, in which case you should. Second, when I'm talking, you all be quiet. Third, you," He pointed at Rose with the sonic. "Need to explain this right now."

"What do you mean, me?" She asked, glancing nervously as everyone's eyes settled on her.

"Don't play stupid." The Doctor sighed, tossing her the device. Gingerly she caught it. "Did I leave you a codeword? A pass phrase? If I did, just forget about it, and tell me what I said when I gave it to you."

Martha's stare shifted to the Doctor. "What do you mean, when you gave it to her?"

Jack attempted to stifle a snicker, and was greatly aided by the Doctor and Martha both glaring at him.

"She knows." The Doctor said simply, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Rose sighed, and sat down. "I don't know what to say. I only remembered anything about where it came from after I saw it. It's like remembering was... forbidden." She tossed it back and he caught it, already headed to the central console. Reaching down, he grabbed a set of tools from under the control panel and began methodically taking the screwdriver apart.

"Shouldn't be surprising to you. Hasn't been the first time the TARDIS has locked knowledge from you." He said, putting on his glasses, his gaze not deviating from the screwdriver.

Rose was silent, her eyes flicking back and forth as she looked at the floor. Slowly she looked up at him.

"Doctor."

"Hmm?" He asked.

"Doctor."

He looked up. "Yes?"

"You came back." She said quietly.

"I suppose I will. I did." He scratched his head. "English just doesn't have enough conjugations to handle things like this."

She smiled slightly. "You came back..."

"Rose, what did I tell you when I gave you this? It's important."

"You came back, and you hid it from me." Her eyes were like daggers as her expression hardened.

The Doctor sighed. "And I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, but I wouldn't have done so unless it was important Rose, you know that."

This was getting all a bit heavy for Donna. She stood up, and loudly declared, "I'm getting tea – if you want some, come with me."

She started towards the door, and noticed one person markedly not following her: Jack. "OI."

Jack swung his head. "I'm good, thanks."

The Doctor, not looking away from Rose, said quietly, "Why don't you go eat?"

"I'd rather -"

"It's not a question." He replied softly, but firmly.

Begrudgingly, Jack turned and followed Donna to the kitchen, leaving the Doctor and Rose in the center of the TARDIS.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Donna carefully poured boiling water into a bone white teapot. The silence she'd endured as she waited for the water to boil was nearly unbearable. For there to be so much happening to have five people in the same small kitchen saying nothing was disconcerting, to say the least. Jack hadn't moved from his position at the door. He leaned his back against it casually, one foot crossed over the other, but his face was anything but relaxed. Martha, Gwen, and Ianto had taken seats at the plain square table in the middle of the kitchen. Ianto was busy writing in a notebook bound in leather, while Martha worked her mobile. Every so often it gave out a discouraging beep and she would frown, then start over again. The only person who looked as uncomfortable as Donna was Gwen, who alternately looked to Ianto, and then to Jack with no response from either.

Slowly inhaling, Donna decided to make her move. She loudly set down five saucers, the noise causing both Gwen and Ianto to jump slightly. Jack glanced up, and resumed his staring contest with the floor. She followed the saucers with five tea cups, careful to set them just hard enough to make a racket but not so hard as to damage them. Not that it mattered, she mused. The plain white tea set looked like something she'd seen on sale at Ikea.

She brought over the steaming pot, and set it on the table. "Tea's ready." She said to no one in particular.

Ianto reached over and poured a cup. Gwen followed suit. Martha didn't stop playing with her phone, and Jack didn't move.

"What is this?" Ianto said, pulling the cup from his lips and staring in amazement.

"Ummm..." Donna mumbled, taking the box from the counter. "It's Versulian Assam."

Ianto nodded in appreciation, and took another sip, leaning back in his chair. "It's perfect."

Gwen had the same reaction. The tea was impossibly rich, with just a hint of malt. It was smooth and delicious, and she realized that she'd nearly forgotten.

The girl down the hallway. In the time-traveling space ship. With an alien, who carried his hand in a jar.

Damn it, she thought. "So what are we going to do?" She asked.

"There's nothing TO do." Said Jack, eyes on the flood still. "The Doctor'll let us know when he needs us."

"I don't believe that." Said Martha, crossly tucking her phone away. "There's got to be something we can work out."

"You want the history?" Asked Jack, bemused. "There's nothing to work out there either, but at least you'll be entertained."

"Lay it on me." Martha said.

"Before the Time War, the Time Lords maintained means of transportation between parallel worlds. But after they were wiped out, the gateways began to malfunction, crumble." Jack began.

"But how'd Rose end up on a parallel world then?" Asked Donna, sitting down at the table.

"The Cybermen, the Daleks." Jack said. "They found a way through the void... this place where nothing exists, to cross over into parallel worlds. But every time they did, it caused terrible damage to the fabric of each planet's existence."

"And then there was Canary Wharf." Said Martha, eyes locked on Ianto.

"That's right." Jack said. "He opened a rift, causing anything that'd come in contact with the void to be sucked back in. Rose was there."

"I know." Ianto said dully, eyes glazed over. Jack glanced at him with concern, and continued.

"She and the Doctor opened the rift, but something happened. A malfunction, an accident? The records are so fragmented, it's hard to tell. The video shows Rose being sucked into the void, and then a flash of light around her. That's it."

"But the Doctor's said that she was safe on this other world, so she must not have fell in." Donna said between sips of tea.

"I've always thought," Jack began slowly, finally moving from the door to the counter where the teapot was still steaming, "That someone from the parallel world saved her. I know both she and her mother are there... which means Mickey is most likely as well."

"Who's Mickey then?" Asked Gwen.

"Her boyfriend." Jack answered.

Gwen snorted. "Could've fooled me."

"Yeah..." Jack said. "They weren't really fond of each other, Mickey and..."

He trailed off, lost in his cup of tea. Thankfully. A conversation about how the Doctor frequently broke up happy relationships wasn't one he wanted to have with the current company.

"The Doctor?" Ianto finished, thumbing through his journal slowly.

Jack withheld a sigh. "Yeah."

"I believe I can see why." Ianto said, still flipping through his journal.

Jack smirked involuntarily.

"So what's the point?" Asked Gwen. "What are we going to do?"

Martha waved Jack over. "You said you knew this Mickey guy, yeah?"

"Right." Jack replied.

"Know his mobile?" She asked.

"Er..." Jack stammered. "Why?"

"Universal roaming." Martha beamed, popping off the back of her phone and removing the battery. A small section of circuits had become fused under the battery.

"Yeah, here, gimme that." He said, hand out.

It was Martha's turn. "Why?"

"Because while I'm sure Mickey wouldn't mind hearing your delicious voice," Jack said while flashing his most charming grin, "He knows me."

She handed him the phone. "Dial away. And mind the ring." She said, waiving her hand in front of him.

"Like asking a starving man to turn away food." Said Jack playfully.

Martha scoffed, but Gwen could see that she was blushing as well.

Jack dialed. He couldn't believe he remembered the number, but there it was. Very back of his mind, but he remembered Rose dialing it. Just once.

He waited, and the whole room waited with him. The phone was silent.

Silence wasn't something the Doctor tended to be comfortable with, either. Silence allowed too much time for him to remember, to ponder, to wade through the terrible feelings and revelations that came with hindsight. But it was all he'd been presented with since he'd been left alone with Rose. She sat near the console, her arms crossed. A burst of tears had messed her makeup, and she didn't seem to care. Now she stared dully at the time rotor, her eyes half open. He had to admit to being a little angry. It was supposed to be different, or not at all. He wasn't supposed to be watching her like a hawk, trying to figure which side she was actually loyal to. He wasn't supposed to have a kitchen full of guests, it should have been just him and her, just like the old days.

I must be getting too old, he mused silently, if I'm this bitter.

He'd been leaned up against the railing for so long that he could have sworn he could feel a permanent dent in his spine forming and he decided if only for his own well-being, he should make his move. He pushed off the railing, and walked over to Rose. Her expression didn't change as he sat down next to her.

"Rose..." He began softly, not wanting to upset her further.

"You have a choice. And either way, it ends in death." She said, still staring up at the rotor.

The Doctor frowned. "That's what I told you?"

She simply nodded.

"What else?"

She reached in her blazer and pulled out a small leather case. Slowly, she handed it to him. The Doctor tugged at the zipper, and opened the case.

"Makeup?" He said dumbly, still staring at the case.

Rose sighed. She reached over presumably for the case, and in thinking so the Doctor moved back against the seat to give her room. Instead she reached into the breast pocket of his jacket..

"Rose?" The Doctor asked, dumbstruck.

She didn't say anything, but withdrew his sonic. She then took the case, and ran it across the edge of the makeup tray. It cracked, then slid up then aside. She then carefully lay the sonic inside. It fit into the velvet of the case perfectly, and the top slid back and down, concealing it totally. She passed it back to him.

"Bigger on the inside." She said, smiling just a small bit.

"Well that's a change." He said, slightly relieved at her show of positive emotion.

"Just took time, to work it all out." She turned to him and flashed him a smile. "Sorry."

"That's fine!" The Doctor smiled back, feeling relieved. "You mind telling me about what happened?"

"We talked for ages. You told me about Donna, Martha, Jack and Jenny. You talked about her for ages."

"Well, Jenny was -" The Doctor began quietly.

"No, Donna."

The Doctor reached up and rubbed his neck, and smiled to himself. "She's pretty amazing," He said, "Although she hits hard."

"It was only when Donna took off for a walk that you took me back on the TARDIS. You gave me this," She gestured to a small golden pendant around her neck, "And you apologized. I asked you what for, and you said I wouldn't remember anything about what was happening until the time was right."

The Doctor was silent, his eyes on her.

"And you know what?" She laughed. "I said, 'I don't care'. Seriously!"

"But evidently you did."

"No, see, that was the problem. Ten years pass not knowing it ever happened, and then come to realize it over an hour?" Rose said

The Doctor nodded somberly.

"But it was the truth. I didn't care. Thought hadn't stuck me I might latter." She smiled. "In any event, here."

She carefully unclasped her necklace and handed it to the Doctor. "You said you'd know what to do with it. 'Should bring me up to speed', you said."

The Doctor examined the pendant. It was wholly unremarkable, it's only adornment a generic flower pattern stamped onto the cheap gold plating. He reached into his pocket, withdrew his glasses, and perched them on his nose, still staring at the small trinket. Rose giggled.

"What?" He asked, eying her over the top of his glasses.

"It's a locket."

"Oh." The Doctor said, prying it apart. Inside lay a small silver cylinder.

"A data spool!" He exclaimed, carefully removing it from the setting. He reached to his jacket pocket and then turned to Rose. She smiled, and worked the Sonic free from it's place in the makeup box.

After running the sonic over then spool, he placed it on the console. It gave a series of chirps, and fell silent. The Doctor frowned, and fired the sonic again.

"Oi, keep that up you're going to break it!"

"Ah, it'll take more than this Rose." The Doctor replied, glancing up at one of the monitors which remained black. He then added, "You're not sounding well, they've got tea in the kitchen if you -"

The Doctor was cut short by a flash of light in the corner of his eye. He turned not to see Rose, as he'd expected, but a figure completely made of hazy blue light.

"How long has it been since you've adjusted these holographic emitters?" The Doctor complained, passing one hand through the other and watching his entire image jump. "Blimey, I hadn't realized how lazy I'd been."

Jack exhaled deeply as the phone began to ring. He couldn't believe that his hand had started to sweat as he held it, or rather that he'd become that nervous.

"What is it?" Asked Gwen.

"It's ringing." He replied.

"Hello..."

"Mickey! It's Jack! I -"

"...I'm out, leave a message..."

"GodDAMN it!" Jack shouted. Donna flinched and Ianto ignored him.

"...After the beep."

"Mickey, it's Jack. I'm with Rose and the Doctor, you need to call me back. TODAY." He said, nearly shouting. Angrily he slammed the phone shut and turned to toss it to Martha, and froze.

"What?" Asked the Doctor, his body halfway through the still closed door. There was a clamor, and the door swung open and through him. The Doctor and Rose stood behind the holographic Doctor.

"You just don't go running off in my ship without saying anything!" The Doctor said, clearly frustrated.

"What'd ya mean, your ship? More like our ship. Ooh, that's strange to say."

The crowd in the kitchen sat and stood in stunned silence.

"You'll have to excuse... me." Said the Doctor, the proper Doctor, crossly. "It appears I did a very poor job programming this hologram."

"This is what you've been doing, playing with the computer while we've been in here?" Donna asked, equally as aggravated.

"Yes. No. Sort of." The Doctor said, turning his attention back to the hologram. "You. Control room. Now."

"Want to know something amusing?" The hologram asked.

The Doctor sighed. "Unless it involves you going to the control room, no."

"You forgot to program me to listen to you."

The Doctor frowned. "Seriously?"

The hologram nodded.

"So what did I program you to do?"

"Talk." The hologram grinned.

"What a surprise that is." Donna said sarcastically.

"Donna..." Began both the hologram and the Doctor at the same time. They looked at each other, the Doctor still frowning and the hologram grinning.

"That's kinda eerie." Martha said quietly, Ianto nodding in agreement.

"So what are you programmed to tell us?" Jack asked, taking a cup of tea.

"You? Nothing." The hologram replied. "Just here to make sure you're all present."

"For?" Asked Martha, one hand to her hip.

"That'd ruin it, wouldn't it though?" It quipped, turning back towards the door.

"I need to talk to you." The hologram said, attempting to poke the Doctor with his finger but instead pushing half his hand through his chest. "Alone."

"Good. Get it over with, so I can deactivate you." Grumbled the Doctor to the hologram's back as it walked down the hall. The Doctor grudgingly followed.

The room the hologram chose was one the Doctor had been avoiding for what felt like a long time. Inside the dimly lit room sat a richly appointed wooden chair. Adorned with elaborate red silk, it's beautifully carved wood glowed softly, completely dustless. Alongside it was a small table with a lamp. More red silk covered the walls, contrasting the dark steel girders that ran up from the floor to the ceiling.

"Is this a hint?" The Doctor asked, closing the door behind them.

"No." Said the hologram. "But why do we avoid this room?"

"Why do you think." The Doctor said, exasperated with himself. He couldn't fathom he'd done such a poor job with a simple interactive hologram.

"We avoid it because it's quiet. And it's full of memory." The Hologram said, walking to the chair and moving its hand as though it was running it's fingers over the wood.

The Doctor nodded.

"Now it's all about the alien, isn't it? That new design. Only place that's still human is the kitchen."

"What's your point?" The Doctor asked.

"Didn't have a problem seeing Five though." The hologram continued, staring at the Doctor.

"He was from before. He didn't have anything to do with -"

"The Time War?"

"Yes."

"That's what this is about. You've met Davros now, haven't you?"

"If you mean Harriet Jones, then yes."

"This is the Dalek's endgame. Each member of the Cult of Skaro had implanted into them a part of his psyche. Kill one, and the part was instantly transmitted to the remaining members."

"Dalek Khan." The Doctor murmured, looking up to the ceiling.

The hologram went to rub his nose, and instead passed his hand through his face. Scowling, he nodded. "Daleks didn't want him around as much as we did on occasion, but they realized if it were down to the wire, he'd be the one to pull through."

"And the residual Gamma radiation threw his temporal jump off, sent him here." The Doctor said somberly, staring at the floor.

"Feel clever for working it out or disappointed you didn't think of it first?" Asked the hologram passively.

The Doctor's face froze. His eyes narrowed as his gaze moved to the hologram.

"What?" It asked innocently. "If you can't be honest with yourself..."

"We're done here." The Doctor said coldly, turning to the door.

"No, we're not." The hologram replied. "Do you remember how the Time War was fought?"

"Yes."

"Exactly?"

The Doctor didn't move, didn't speak. He gazed without emotion far into the distance.

"They're your only way out. It's the only way to save this planet, your friends. Rose."

"I will **never** use -" The Doctor shouted, pausing then continuing in a harsh whisper, "Temporal hooks again. Ever. That died with the Time War."

"If the Daleks still exist, then the war isn't over." The hologram shook it's head. "I know you. For most intensive purposes, I AM you. You don't think you'd consider every other option before resorting to using temporal hooking? You did. Nearly went mad looking for another solution, but I'm telling you, there isn't one."

"No. I'd rather go mad than use those as my first and last resort." The Doctor was furious, his voice raised. "And you should know that!"

"You asked why this room?" The hologram said, now equally angry. It walked til it was nearly face to face with the Doctor.

"If you hesitate, you will get half the people on board this ship slaughtered in your indecision. And if you don't, then Earth, the future, **everything** will be just like this room, a tiny museum in the back of a Dalek computer bank."

"And how exactly do you suggest I preform this in any event?" Asked the Doctor, glaring unflinchingly back at himself. "Temporal hooking, as you know, requires massive amounts of energy which isn't exactly abundant in this universe anymore."

The hologram smiled sadly as it began to fade. "The Bad Wolf."

"No no no no no!" The Doctor shouted, snatching his sonic and firing it at the rapidly degrading image.

It continued to decay until nothing was left but a blue haze where it had stood, and the Doctor lowered the device slowly to his side. He stared at the red silk chair, hearing the Hologram's words, **his** words, echo in his mind.

The Bad Wolf.

_She is returning._


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Note: Many thanks for all the questions and reviews. They've really motivated me. :)

Jack Harkness carefully pushed the door he'd been kneeling next to open. Slowly, just a crack. Enough to see the Doctor standing completely still. That was enough to worry Jack. Cautiously he pushed it open further, just an inch at a time. He still couldn't make out much when much to his dismay he heard the Doctor's voice.

"Jack."

Feeling like a child, he stood up and opened the door. One side of his mouth pulled back as he examined the decor, but not in a half smile or smirk. Stepping in, he swung the door shut behind him and approached the Doctor. He remained perfectly still, standing in the middle of the room. Jack came along side him and stared where the Doctor was, which was at nothing. The two stood side by side, silently for what felt to Jack like ages.

Finally, the Doctor spoke. His voice was low and emotionless. "They teach you about temporal hooks in the Time Agency?" He asked.

"There has to be another way." Jack said, equally as low.

"And if there isn't?" The Doctor turned to him, his eyes dark.

"What about the Bad Wolf?"

The Doctor shook his head. "It would kill whoever absorbed it."

Jack's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, whoever?"

"The Bad Wolf is more than just Rose. It was the unique combination of the unconscious human mind combined with the Heart of the TARDIS." The Doctor's gaze intensified. "Any one of you could use it, but you'd be killed within minutes, and what needs to be done -"

He sighed heavily, breaking his eye contact with Jack to resume looking at the floor, his head hung. "What needs to be done would require at least three times that."

"What about you?" Jack asked, watching the Doctor intently.

"You know I can't." He said bitterly. "I've told you what would happen."

"But not you." Jack said, attempting to be encouraging. The Doctor lifted his head slowly and looked at Jack. Somewhere in the back of his mammalian mind he began to feel the adrenalin flow, despite the completely neutral expression on the Doctor's face. Just looking at him became frightening, but he couldn't look away.

"What you see now, can you imagine it being expressed with infinite power over space and time?"

His words seemed to break the spell. Jack inhaled sharply, his jaw set.

"You said you took the power from Rose. Why? If it was so dangerous, why did you take the risk?" Jack asked.

"It was worth dying to save her." The Doctor said simply, oddly vacantly. "Despite all this, I can't regret what I did. But I will tell you this. From the time I took the vortex to the time I sent it back to the TARDIS, in those few _seconds_, only Rose kept me from completely loosing myself."

Then the Doctor jumped, and so did Jack – away from him. He turned on Jack, eyes on fire. "That's it!"

"What?"

"Rose! The reason I didn't immediately loose control, the reason she held the power so long without damage! Don't you see?" The Doctor asked, nearly shouting. "The Bad Wolf is more than just the Vortex when it was in Rose! It's the new entity created when they merged! She didn't just become the Bad Wolf _temporarily_, she altered the Heart of the TARDIS itself permanently!"

"This is brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" The Doctor gripped Jack by the shoulders, grinning.

Jack grinned back at the Doctor. "So the solution's been under our noses this whole time?"

"Oh yes!" The Doctor yelled, already running out the door. "So let's go try it!"

Jack ran after him, and as usual with the Doctor, straight into trouble.

"Where the _hell_ have you been?!" Donna roared at the Doctor as he entered the control room of the TARDIS. His eyes were wide with surprise.

"What do you mean -" He began, but was cut off by a catastrophic bang from the doors.

"She means this, sir." Ianto said, running his hands over the console of the TARDIS. One of the mounted screens lit up, showing a view from the outside. A battalion of Daleks had arranged themselves around the front doors, and were firing simultaneously.

The Doctor's mouth opened, shut, then opened again has he stared not at the monitor but at Ianto.

"Who taught you how to do that?" He asked, knitting his eyebrows. "Was it Martha? Donna? Jack?"

"I worked it out on my own. It's not a difficult system, once you get past the disorganized interface." Ianto said, quickly bringing up another camera view. The room was swarming with Daleks, a group of which were now bringing thick cabling over to the TARDIS doors.

"Right, that's not good." Said Martha. "You said these doors are impenetrable yeah?"

The Doctor ignored her, and the new camera view. "What do you mean, _disorganized_? This is a cutting edge systems utilization control scheme!"

Ianto shrugged innocently, saying nothing but rather catching Jack's eyes from over the Doctor's shoulders. The two grinned at one another, and the Doctor spun back to glare at him.

"You did teach him!" The Doctor said accusingly.

"I didn't, actually. Still though you gotta admit, him figuring it out, that's fantastic isn't it?" Jack said, still grinning at Ianto.

The Doctor pulled a face which broke into a grin, turning back to Ianto. "Yes it is."

Another blast hit the door, rocking the TARDIS. "Doctor!" Rose called out, pointing at the door.

"Oh." He said, striding to the door. "Oh no." He ran his hand over the door slowly, then quickly pulling it back to his mouth.

"Owth." He mumbled, still staring at it.

"What is it?" Donna asked, coming to stand beside him.

Still with the palm of his hand in his mouth, he gestured with his free hand at the door. A small section had begun to splinter, bulging inward under the Dalek's assault.

"Idiot." Donna said, pulling his hand away from his mouth as the others grouped up around the door. Again, the TARDIS rocked and the wood cracked further.

Donna carefully extracted a large splinter from his hand. "Ow ow ow!"

"Such a baby..." Donna muttered as the Doctor yanked his hand away.

Another blast hit the doors, and a deep fracture spread vertically. Martha jumped back as it hit, then came to the Doctor. "You've got to do something!"

He nodded. "Ianto! Raise shields!" He called out, grinning at Martha. "I've always wanted to say that."

She scowled. "Done!" Ianto called back.

"Back, back, back!" The Doctor instructed, pushing Gwen, Jack, and Rose out of the way. Without breaking stride, the Doctor threw the door open and stepped out.

"It is the Doctor!" Called one.

"The Doctor!" The many chanted together in response.

"Exterminate!" They screamed together, pushing forwards.

The Doctor set his jaw as the Daleks surged towards him only to be stopped by the TARDIS's shields.

"Where's Harriet Jones?" He asked quietly.

"Exterminate!" They called again.

"Extend the shields 7 meters!" The Doctor yelled. He walked forward slowly as the Daleks were pushed back, fighting it every inch of the way, until they were trapped between the shields and the walls of the laboratory.

"One more time. Where is Harriet Jones?" He growled, carefully enunciating each word.

The Daleks said nothing, and the Doctor scowled. Then, slowly, each Dalek turned to look to the right. Following their gaze, his eyes rested on the doorway in which sat the elderly woman. Unable to enter the room due to the shields, she sat still, half-open eyes on the Doctor.

"My Doctor." She smiled weakly. "How wonderful to see you again."

He rushed to the edge of the shield, stopping inches from her wheelchair. "Why?" He asked. "Why did you do this?"

"It was necessary. For peace. For survival." She rasped.

"No." He said softly. "There had to be another way."

"There was none." She said harshly. The few words winded her, and she inhaled sharply, machines whirring into action. The Doctor watched sadly as even with the machines she fought to breathe.

"How much longer?" He asked.

"Soon, very soon, the merge will be complete." She replied. "And our worlds will -"

She broke into a coughing fit. The Doctor's eyes became wide. "Our worlds will what?" He insisted, and upon receiving no response he pounded on the shield with his hand. "Harriet!"

Her head snapped up inhumanly, her eyes wide. "The gateway is open, and when the worlds merge I will take this universe as my own!" She said between coughs, the words being forced through.

"That's not possible. Even for you." He replied with concern.

"It is, when we have the power of the Time Lords." She gasped, her knuckles white from her grip on the armrest. "The Time Lords will release us!"

The Doctor shook his head sadly. "This is what it's come to? The great Davros having to rely on the last of the Time Lords to save his people?"

"You will be responsible for a new breed of Dalek." Jones replied, her voice becoming weaker by the second. "Your name will be forever remembered as a father to the new empire!" She hissed.

"Oh yes it will." The Doctor said, pushing away from the shield and turning back to the TARDIS. "But not by you." He said over his shoulder as he shut the doors behind him.

Rose rushed to the Doctor as he shut the door. "How is she?" She asked quietly, looking up expectingly at him.

He gazed back sorrowfully. "I'm sorry. She hasn't got much longer."

Rose nodded. After a moment the Doctor broke his gaze with her and walked to the console where Ianto stood next to Jack.

"And this? You can see from where it's power feeds lead that -" Ianto was saying, as Jack gazed on nodding with appreciation.

"Excuse me." The Doctor said, reaching over Ianto to strike a button with the heel of his hand.

"I certainly hope you don't treat your companions like you do your ship." Ianto commented, stepping back as the Doctor raised his hand to hit the console again.

He paused mid-strike to look at Ianto, shocked. "Wouldn't dream of it!" He replied, turning back to beat on the console until the ship began emitting a low hum.

The time rotor began to move, the humming growing louder. The Doctor turned to face his assembled companions, engaged in various activities throughout the room. He didn't know quite what to say, or how to begin, which struck him as very odd. He never had a problem speaking, especially not in this regeneration. How could he tell them what had to be done?


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"So what's this all about, anyway?" Asked Martha, seated once again at the kitchen table. The Doctor glanced over his shoulder as he dug through the refrigerator.

"Just hold on." He said, turning back to push things aside with both hands. "I know they're in here somewhere."

Martha sighed and turned back to the rest of the group at the table. With enough crunching they'd managed to place seven chairs around the square table.

"Ah!" The Doctor shouted, standing up. "Found 'em!" In his hands was a large wooden box that he set on the table with a clinking bang.

"Original formula Coke-a-cola. Well, nearly." He said proudly, opening the top and carefully removing a glass bottle, setting it in front of Jack. Packing straw clung to the wet bottle as Jack picked it up to inspect it.

"No way." Donna said, reaching for a bottle. Turning it in her hands, she gasped when she looked at the bottom. "Manufactured in 1906?"

"Took them a while to get the new formula right. You know, the one without the drugs." The Doctor commented, passing out bottles. Taking one for himself he sat down, resting his arms on the table. The group eyed him expectantly as they uncapped the drinks.

"The Daleks have found a way using their knowledge of the TARDIS to reopen the gateway between parallel universes." He said, having finally decided the right opening to a difficult conversation. "And they're attempting to merge two parallel worlds."

"Is that possible?" Jack asked.

"Yes." The Doctor replied. "In some cases, it's even necessary to the survival of both to do so. And it creates massive amounts of energy when it happens."

"So what to the Daleks need all this power for?" Martha said, bottle to her lips.

"Transmat cloning. Shaping formless pure energy into whole creatures instantaneously. And the merging of these two worlds would be enough for hundreds of millions of new Daleks." The Doctor said, his eyes dark as he stared at his bottle.

"But we can stop them, right?" Donna asked.

"It's too late. We can't stop the merge now. Right now, Earth will be in chaos as parallel events synchronize into a new time line."

The group was silent. "So this is it?" Asked Gwen softly.

"Oh no. Not by a long shot." The Doctor said, smiling. His gaze shifted to Rose.

"What?" She asked, taking a drink.

"Look at the bottom of your bottle." Jack said slowly, his eyes narrowed.

Lifting it up, Rose gasped. "Bottled in Blaidd Drwg, UK." She murmured. Her gaze turned back to the Doctor.

"We can't." She whispered.

"Oh but we can." He smiled back, his enthusiasm making her sick.

"Last time..." She began nervously. "You died."

Martha and Donna's eyes jumped back to the Doctor.

"But not this time, and it's thanks to you." The Doctor replied, taking her hand. "Rose, you didn't just absorb the Vortex, you changed it fundamentally."

"So we can use it..." She looked up hopefully. "Stop the merge."

"It can't be stopped, Rose. Not even by the Bad Wolf. To do so would require more control than you had." He forced himself to not look at Jack.

"So you could do it then." Donna said.

"I can't. Even with the changes to the vortex, it's still too powerful. If I possessed it for more than a few seconds, I'd be lost. Forever." The Doctor said, his face taunt with the memory of holding it the first time.

"How do you mean, 'lost'?" Asked Martha.

"I mean lost." The Doctor said quietly, resting his dark eyes on her.

There was silence for a moment before he continued. "When the TARDIS lands, with the exception of myself and Jack, each of you need to be exposed to the Vortex."

Jack opened his mouth to speak, and was cut off. "You're like me, Jack." The Doctor said quietly. "We're old, too old. You really shouldn't."

"And when you are," The Doctor continued, "Each of you has a specific task to accomplish."

"Isn't this Vortex or Bad Wolf dangerous?" Martha asked. "I mean, if it killed _you_."

"It's only dangerous if it's held for too long. Furthermore, each of you will be doing this simultaneously, so it's effects will be spread out. Hopefully."

Donna and Martha frowned, but nodded.

"Right!" The Doctor said. "So, Gwen." His eyes narrowed as though he was looking at her for the first time.

"Have we met before?" He asked.

"No." She said, blushing slightly. "I think I would have remembered."

"I'm certain I've seen you before." The Doctor said, lips pursed in thought. "Must be one of those faces. In any event, you, Donna, and Ianto are responsible for managing the merge of the universes."

The three looked at one another. "Isn't that... a little much?" Asked Donna.

"When it happens, just keep in your mind clearly what you intend to do. It'll work out, I promise." The Doctor flashed them a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"Rose, Martha." The Doctor said, looking at both. "You two are responsible for removing the Daleks."

"Just like before." Rose said quietly, looking at the Doctor who nodded.

Silence feel again over the group. No one touched their drinks, and the only noise was from the ever present hum of the ship.

"Oi! Look at you lot." The Doctor said. "Act like you're all marching to your graves. Listen, this is going to work, and it'll be over before you know it. Bing bang boom, safe as houses."

Just as he finished, the TARDIS swayed violently, throwing the Doctor, Ianto, and Gwen to the floor. Glass crashed around them as they struggled to their feet. The Doctor bolted to the control room, and the rest of the group followed. The ship lurched again, throwing the Doctor against the wall. As he righted himself again, the cloister bell began to ring.

He continued down the hall at breakneck speed. "We're crash landing! Find somewhere to hold on!" He bellowed as he reached the control room. Holding on to the console with one hand, he desperately attempted to control the ship with the other. It wasn't any use – a few seconds latter the ship shook violently, and became eerily still. Breathing heavily, the Doctor stood up. He looked down the corridor to see Rose helping Martha to her feet, the others obscured behind the two. The Doctor took his sonic and carefully adjusted it and placed it on the console, resting his hand on it for a moment feeling the hum of the ship with his eyes closed. Opening them, he gazed upwards. The time rotor sat crookedly, the crash having damaged it severely. It would require weeks to repair.

But the Doctor knew he'd never fix it. Taking his hand off the console, he walked to the door, taking one last look over his shoulder. "Goodbye, old friend." He whispered, as he opened the door and stepped out.

The TARDIS had landed in front of an old church. It was dark, and the wind whipped at the Doctor, who regretted leaving his coat inside. Cars sat abandoned in the streets, and papers littered the ground. It was quiet, save for the wind howling through the trees. He walked along the middle of the road, looking around casually when he heard what sounded like whispers. The paused and turned to the source of the noise, a small alleyway off the road. It stopped. Curious, he walked over.

"Hello!" He called out cheerfully. "Anyone here?"

A group of men and women stood from the shadows. Each was heavily armed and dressed in ragged uniforms. What caught the Doctor's eye, however, were their bright red caps. Two came forward, while the rest remained cautiously still. Their weapons weren't raised, and as they cleared the shadows the Doctor couldn't suppress a grin.

Mickey Smith extended his right hand to the Doctor. "You have no idea," He said grinning, "How happy we are to see you."

"Likewise." Said Sarah-Jane, awkwardly shouldering her rifle.

"Blimey!" The Doctor said, taking Mickey's hand. "What are you two doing here?"

"Jack called. We traced his phone, and it's most recent position was here. He said you were with Rose."

The Doctor nodded. "She's in the TARDIS."

"Is she OK?"

"Completely." The Doctor said happily. "More to the point, how are you?"

"Silly question, don't you think?" Sarah-Jane quipped.

"Well, yes. Sort of." The Doctor couldn't stop smiling despite the circumstances. "UNIT though. Always thought you'd do well there."

"It wasn't my first choice, but it would appear expertise such as my own is in demand at the moment." She said. "As is yours."

The Doctor nodded. "In a few minutes, some thing's going to happen. You need to stay clear."

"What'd ya mean, 'something'?" Mickey asked.

"I really don't know. Well, I know it'll be dangerous. So please," He said, his voice lowering, "Stay clear."

Mickey began to say something, but Sarah-Jane placed her hand on his shoulder and shook her head.

"He's made up his mind. Best we can do is follow his advice." She said quietly.

A buzzing sound came from above them. Quickly, the squad lowered to the ground, merging with the shadows. The Doctor tilted his head back to see a large group of Daleks flying above, heading for the TARDIS.

"That's odd. They're flying in a protective formation. I wonder what it is that they could be protecting." The Doctor said sarcastically to himself as he walked back into the street. The TARDIS's lighting glowed faintly. It had never seemed so small to the Doctor, so insignificant.

"Alert!" Called out one of the Daleks.

"It is the Doctor!" A group of three separated from the group and hovered a few meters in front of him.

"Exterminate!" The trio screamed, each eye stalk trained on the Doctor as he stood to face them dead on.

"Well where's he gone then?" Donna asked the group. They'd staggered to the control room after the crash to find the Doctor vanished, and more disturbingly his sonic left behind. Only Rose displayed any motion other than agitated confusion. She was silent, and her eyes remained fixed on the screwdriver.

Donna's attention moved to Rose. "What is it?"

Rose bit her lower lip. "It's where he left the sonic. That's the panel that accesses the Heart of the TARDIS."

"It's clear what we need to do then." Jack said, lifting the sonic. Rose swatted his hand down.

"Don't" She said, holding his hand against the console. "We have to find where he went first."

Jack shook his head. "He left this here for a reason, Rose. We have to do this, regardless of if he's here or not."

"He sent me home for a reason too, you think listening to him would have done any of us any good?" She snapped back.

Jack said nothing, but pulled his hand and the sonic free of her.

"What do you suggest we do then?" Asked Martha.

"Simple. Go find the Doctor." Rose replied.

"And if we can't get back to the TARDIS?" Martha retorted. "Jack's right, he did leave the sonic here, and in that place, for a reason."

"She's right." Donna said quietly. "We have to do what he asked."

"You can do what you like," Rose said, striding towards the door. "But have to know what happened to him."

Rose heard the footsteps following her, and chose to turn right as she reached the door to tell whoever was attempting to discourage her to, quite frankly, piss off.

"Don't." Jack said softly as she opened her mouth to snap at him. "I'm going with you."

"Why?" She asked. "You just said..."

"I can't be exposed to the Vortex, even the Doctor said so. So, I'll go with you." He took her hand, and opened the door with the other. "Let's go."

The Doctor's thoughts about the disappointing reality of the afterlife as he waited for the Daleks to fire were cut short by the creak of the TARDIS doors. He turned to see Rose and Jack emerge, Jack quickly shutting the door behind them.

"Rose, my dear." Came a voice from above. Rose and Jack stared upwards. Easily a dozen Daleks hummed above the TARDIS. Slowly, a single Dalek descended, it's armor glowing pale gold in the street lamps. It came to halt a meter off the ground, so that she had to look up to see what used to be Harriet Jones. Her hair was completely gone, and her skin had become gray and dry, drawn tight across her skull. Only from her shoulders up were visible – the rest of her body was hidden below the armor. It was her eyes that caught their attention though, completely black and glittering as she considered them.

"Rose!" The Doctor roared, turning aside to the Daleks. "Rose, get back in the TARDIS! Jack -"

He was cut off by a deafening blast. There was noise, so much noise. The Doctor was disappointed, in a funny sort of way. He'd on occasion wished for a quiet, peaceful end in the same way he'd fancied a quiet, normal life sometimes. But instead the wind rushed through his ears as the Dalek's specialized weaponry tossed him like a rag doll accompanied by Rose's scream, and he found himself grateful for the sickening crack the back of his head made as it hit the asphalt. Not because it was the last sound he wanted to hear, but rather that it was over. In a few minutes, the Time War would finally be over.

Jack stood slack jawed, so shocked he hadn't moved a muscle as he watched the Doctor fly and land only a few meters away. Rose jerked her hand way and dodged around the Dalek, rushing to his side. The Doctor lay on his back, his hips twisted to the side, one leg over the other. His arms were spread out and his eyes were closed. She knelt, and gasped. His suit had a hole burned through it, revealing a deep, massive wound in his abdomen. The flesh was blackened and twisted from the blast.

"Doctor?" She cried softly, placing one hand alongside his head and the other over his chest. "Doctor? Can you hear me?"

Well, that was unexpected, he thought to himself. Although certainly not unpleasant.

His eyes opened slowly, and he smiled weakly.

"Why did you do it?" She asked, tears falling on his face. "Why did you go?"

Struggling for breath he finally spoke, reaching one hand up to rest on her lower back. "They can't... ever be destroyed... unless I am as well."

"What do you mean, Doctor?" She asked as he raised his head slightly. "I don't understand!"

"It's... alright." He said as soothingly as he could muster, clenching his jaw with pain.

"Doctor?"

"Have a... fantastic life... Rose." He said softly, gazing at her.

"Doctor?" She asked again, feeling so very hopeless. "Doctor!"

She hadn't heard Jack come along side her. His face was like stone as he gazed down at the two. He reached down to rest a hand on Rose's shoulder, and she shook him off.

"He'll just regenerate, right?" She bawled, one hand on the Doctor's still chest, his eyes still open and staring blankly out at where Rose had been. "Right?"

Jack slowly shook his head. "He can't. Where he was shot... it means he can't regenerate." He instantly hated himself for being so wordy. "I'm sorry Rose. He's gone."

Fighting back tears himself Jack knelt alongside and passed his hand over the Doctor's face which fell into a peaceful mask, his eyes now shut. He looked hatefully up at the Daleks that had remained silent and still since they'd fired.

"They are nothing without their leader. Proceed to the TARDIS." He heard a voice call out, raspy and curt over the wind.

"We obey the creator!" The Daleks called back, advancing on the ship.

"Like hell you will." Jack growled fiercely, standing and turning. At least, he intended to turn. It was then a group of people caught his eye, a little over a half dozen arranged in a two row firing line tucked into an alley way.

Mickey had watched the scene with grim determination, one hand raised. He'd organized his men, each who now stood perfectly still, their rifles trained on the gold Dalek. He only had time to nod at Jack before he lowered his hand sharply, and the air was again filled with noise and smoke.

"Run!" Jack shouted, grabbing Rose by the collar of her jacket, dragging her behind him as he bolted for the TARDIS. It was only a little way. They could make it, Jack thought, they could -

Only feet from their goal and the path was blocked by a Dalek who had landed directly in front of the doors. It's blue eye stalk swiveled to meet Jack's enraged glare. Inexorably it trained it's weapon on him, then to Rose who stood behind him.

"Exterminate!" It shrieked, firing. Jack pushed Rose behind him and closed his eyes, fully intending on feeling what he had before, that strange death that only the Dalek's superior weaponry could provide. The second it took the beam to reach his chest seemed to take an eternity, and the air was heavy with the screams of the Daleks and the rousing shouts from the rebels firing on them.

In fact, it was taking much too long to die this time, he reckoned. Jack opened his eyes to find the Dalek's beam only centimeters from his chest. It was frozen in mid air, looking very much like an icicle. He blinked, and looked over the Dalek. The TARDIS doors were gone, and blinding gold light swirled from the entrance.

_-We are the Bad Wolf- _

The words burned in Jack's mind, as if they were made of the same light that flowed from the doors. It swirled around their feet, cascading outwards. The Daleks remained suspended, including the one still blocking the entrance to the ship. The gold light swirled and reached up, as if to embrace the creature. It became completely engulfed, and the light receded, it left only Donna and Martha standing where the Dalek once stood. As one they stepped forward, and each reached out one hand to rest on Jack's shoulders. He looked up in awe at their eyes, which burned with impossible, otherworldly heat. And then, he knew what he had to do.

Jack stepped aside, and the two approached Rose. She didn't seem afraid anymore. In fact, he'd never seen her so calm as she locked eyes with the two women. The light seeped from their eyes, flowing together into a stream which reached out to Rose. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, allowing the energy to enter her.

Jack watched on as her eyes opened, now alive and burning. She turned to face the assembled Daleks, Donna and Martha flanking her.

_-Beyond knowledge and space and time only I exist-_

Their mouths moved together, silently forming the words. The three took another stride forward, and from the ship Ianto and Gwen followed. Jack clenched his jaw with fear as Ianto turned his head to gaze at him. His face was so peaceful and smooth in comparison to the burning energy in his eyes.

_-The sun has set forever, and without it the moon cannot be. Once held to existence by fleeting light, now it feels the truth of the darkness.-_

Jack's eyes widened. Could it be that the Daleks existence was tied to the Doctor? That in some way they could not be without the other, like the day and the night? He took another halting step back from the group, who began to shift into a circle, each member facing outwards.

_-Feel the truth of the darkness!-_

Jack cried out and stumbled to the ground, the voice's cry searing his mind. Vaguely he heard others cry out as well, and when the pain had passed he turned his head to see the the group of armed men and women stumbling from the alleyway. All were staring past him, and Jack turned to watch. As one they lifted their arms, the golden mist following their lead. It trailed upwards, spiraling together to form a pillar of light which illuminated the night as far as Jack could see. The ground vibrated violently as the pillar soared higher and brighter, out of sight into the sky. Only a single Dalek was able to move to watch – Davros. She gazed upwards, the light's reflection in her eyes making it seem that she too was part of the Bad Wolf.

The pillar began to pulsate, slowly at first and then more rapidly, until with a single deafening explosion it shattered, the light blinding Jack as he was knocked backwards by the shock wave. He opened his eyes to see nothing but blackness, but slowly his vision returned. He saw a number of people now facing the TARDIS, but he couldn't make out their faces. He heard them inhale deeply as one and slowly exhale, sending the golden light back into the TARDIS. Looking upwards, he realized the Daleks were gone. Not a single one flew above, nor was there any trace of them save a fine ash being whipped by the night's wind.

His gaze turned back to the people assembled in front of the doors of the ship. Golden energy still seeped from their mouths, and slowly stalled to a trickle. He watched as they crumpled, and he clamored over to them. The first person he found was Ianto. Fearfully Jack reached out to rest his hand on his neck. There was a pulse, and Jack sighed deeply. Alongside him was Martha, who's eyes fluttered as she groaned. Finally there was Gwen. Her pulse was weak and thready, and her breathing was shallow. Jack sat alongside her and took her head in his lap. He didn't know what else to do.

Martha rolled over, and pushed herself up slowly and painfully. She picked her head up and gazed forward to see her worst fear.

Rose and Donna still stood together, light pouring from their eyes. Silently they approached the broken and still body that lie in the street, each kneeling along each side of the Doctor.

The two looked down at him, and then up at each other. Rose placed one hand over each of the Doctor's hearts, and Donna did likewise over Roses' hands.

_-The sun rises again, his death not in vain.-_

"Don't!" Cried out Martha. "You've held it too long!"

_-We see the whole of this new planet, and your time has not yet come.-_

Jack and Martha watched on as the two began to glow, their whole bodies covered in the light. It flowed down their arms, into the still unmoving body between them.

_-It is finished.-_

The voice now came weakly in Jack's mind, strained. The two knelt alongside the Doctor a moment longer, and then they collapsed onto the asphalt. Jack gaped, panicked, but knowing he couldn't leave Gwen. Martha stumbled over, coming to kneel by Donna. She knelt down and felt her throat.

Alive, but just barely. She reached over to Rose, and reached the same conclusion. Neither woman stirred at her touch.

Then looked down at the Doctor, which she'd been avoiding. His skin was ashy and gray except where his suit had been burned away revealing a fresh, pink scar easily a half foot in diameter. She reached down and gingerly placed her hand on his chest. Nothing. Then, she slid across and felt the other side. The beat was so slow, she'd nearly lifted her hand before she felt it, but it was there. He was alive, and she'd never felt so relieved.

She jerked around to shout to Jack and instead came face to face with Mickey Smith. Jack raised a hand in greeting from across the way, and Mickey nodded at him. Behind him, the men and women in the their battered uniforms circled around the bodies, carefully squatting along side them. Three of them broke off and came to Jack, still cradling Gwen.

It was then Jack felt a presence as if he'd been surrounded by ghosts and not men. He swung his head to the right and came face to face with Toshiko. She smiled shyly, and looked past Jack. Twisting his head in the opposite direction, he met the dark eyes of Owen. Each was dressed in the same ragged black uniform and red cap. They didn't say anything but carefully moved along with their companion, an older lady, to help Jack pick up Gwen, carefully carrying her back to the TARDIS. Martha followed behind with the Doctor, and Mikey with Donna.

The doors to the ship had been burned away, leaving scorch marks along the wood. They entered single file and walked back through the twisting corridors to the medical bay. Carefully each injured member was placed on a separate bed. Jack took stock of his thoughts, gazing at Rose and Donna. Finally, he turned to face Toshiko and Owen.

"I told you he looked familiar." Said Toshiko, gesturing at Jack.

Owen nodded. "Yeah, he does."

Jack's heart fell, but Martha stepped in. "It's alright. You'll start to remember in the next few days." She smiled at the two. "I know you won't believe me now, but you three are the best of friends."

Owen eyed Jack with skepticism, while Toshiko smiled shyly and turned back to her fellow soldiers. Jack's gaze shifted to Gwen and Ianto. Both appeared to be doing better. Their breathing was strong and even, and their heart rates registered at a low normal. They still hadn't woken up though, which brought him to another question.

"Martha," Jack began.

"Why are you up and the others aren't?" She finished for him. "It's because of my exposure to the time reversal on the Valiant. If you'd absorbed the vortex, you'd have the same reaction."

Jack nodded, and silently turned back to gazing at Gwen and Ianto.

Sarah-Jane remained next to the Doctor, watching him intently. Mickey came up to her.

"You remember now yeah?"

"I do." She began, "But to have two lifetimes of memory is so frustrating – he's a stranger and a friend at the same time." She gestured at Rose. "Very much like my memory of her."

Mickey nodded, gazing back at Rose. Her skin was bone white, making her hair appear darker than it was. He hadn't seen her in so long, and now she seemed almost as he remembered her. She didn't seem a day older.

The Doctor drifted. He heard voices, so many of them, all intertwined. He knew them all but couldn't place them. Could he have been wrong? All his scientific knowledge for nothing? Perhaps this was this afterlife he was approaching. He felt as though hew as floating upwards, born up by some unseen force. There was light. He struggled with the implications. If it was an afterlife, which one was it? He'd studied a thousand different religions, and he was more than sure he didn't meet the criteria for half their pleasant endings. But if on the off chance he did... who would he see?

The light became brighter, and an image formed. It was Sarah-Jane, who's eyes widened. She smiled nervously.

"Doctor?" She asked softly.

"Hello, Sarah-Jane." He said happily, although it came out as a strained whisper. Perhaps this afterlife business wasn't bad after all.

"Hey you." Came another voice. Another face. It was Martha, and someone else... Jack. It was definitely Jack beside her.

"What are you doing here?" He croaked, his voice still unsteady. Obviously this was some sort of afterlife one had to acclimate to.

Martha glanced at Jack, who didn't appear phased by the question at all. He smiled knowingly, and leaned down to his ear. The Doctor couldn't see him anymore. Did he ask the wrong thing? Perhaps this was an afterlife in temporal flux, which meant even those who hadn't died kept images of -

"You're not dead." Came a whisper, so low only he could hear it. "Trust me."

The Doctor blinked, and blinked again to be sure. Slowly the image came into focus. The ceiling of the medical bay was partially obscured by a bright white lamp, and above him stood Martha, Jack, and Sarah-Jane. Mickey joined them.

"He's awake?" He asked, looking down at the Doctor.

"Apparently." The Doctor remarked, his voice returning. He attempted to sit up, but only managed halfway, and flopped down sideways. His new position gave him a different view, and the realization of what must have happened hit him as he stared at Rose.

"Jack -" He began, eyes wide. His hands followed his suit down to the large scorched hole. He fingered the fresh scar and the frayed edges of his suit, still staring at Rose.

"Where's Donna?" He asked, looking up at Martha. Her face fell into the well practiced mask of a physician giving a patient bad news.

"She was hurt." Martha began slowly. "We don't know how badly."

The Doctor reached an arm up weakly, and Martha pulled him up. He turned slowly to see Donna lying in the bed past Rose.

"No..." He murmured, looking over the two. He turned back to Martha, panic spreading through his face.

"Martha, this is important." He gasped, looking intently at her. "Were the Daleks removed before they... did whatever they did?"

"Yes." She replied simply. "Although you really should have told us why you left."

"I couldn't." The Doctor said softly.

"Why not?" Asked Jack.

"Oh, you know," The Doctor said, trying his best for a big smile, "I'm rubbish with goodbyes."

It didn't go over the way he wanted. Both Martha and Jack scowled, and Sarah-Jane had stepped back. Only Mickey didn't seem phased.

"If I'd told you, you would have tried to stop me, and I couldn't risk it." The Doctor said, his gaze returning to Rose and Donna. "This..."

The Doctor inhaled sharply. "This wasn't supposed to happen." He carefully turned himself, and dangled his legs over the edge of the bed. Slowly he pushed himself off, and tested his weight on his legs. So far, so good, he thought.

"What about Ianto and Gwen?" Jack asked, gesturing to the other side of the medical bay where the two lay.

The Doctor glanced at their monitors. "They should be fine, in an hour or so. They won't remember anything about what happened however."

He gingerly walked over and cut in between Rose and Donna's beds. The move had exhausted him, and he placed a hand on the edge of each bed to steady himself. He peered down at Rose, and glanced at her monitor. He ran his hand through her hair, and came to rest his hand along side her face, his fingers splayed out. His eyes shut, as those that were awake watched him intently.

He let go with a deep, hurt sigh, and stared dully at her.

"Doctor, what is it?" Jack asked.

"She doesn't remember." He said numbly, eyes locked on her face. "She doesn't remember any of it."

"What do you mean?" Mickey asked. "How much doesn't she remember?"

The Doctor raised his head to glare at him, and Mickey took a step back. "Don't worry," He said, the words not matching his tone of voice in the least. "She remembers you. She remembers everything up until the point she met me."

Mickey nodded dumbly, and it wasn't the first time the Doctor had the impulse to throttle him. Apprehensively he reached over to Donna, and spread his hand over her face. He closed his eyes, and a few seconds away pulled again, with the same dull faraway look in his eyes.

"She'll be the same in a few hours." He said numbly, staring down. "She's in a state of synaptic cascade failure."

"Will they live?" Asked Martha softly.

"Oh yes." He replied quietly. "They'll live. Fantastic lives, I'm sure."

He walked forward, to a small table set into the wall, and paused. Martha watched on nervously. His face was taunt with regret and disappointment. Again, he reached down to touch the missing section of his suit. His eyes narrowed, and he wiped his face with his sleeve, once and then again a second later.

He straightened, his eyes vacant as he addressed those with him.

"Let's take you all home." He said simply, turning slowly to the door.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The Final Note: Thank you so much for reading. I just wrote this to get it off my chest, and I was completely shocked by the response I got. Thanks again, and welcome to the final chapter.

The Doctor sat alone in the control room of the TARDIS. He'd dropped Mickey and Rose back at the Powell Estates, and gave Mickey specific instructions on how to care for her. She could never know what happened, or risk further damage as she attempted to access the degraded portions of her memory. It was most difficult to explain to Jackie, who'd fought him tooth and nail. He hadn't realized that she'd thought of him so highly, having become so used to quarreling with her.

He'd taken Jack and his team back to Cardiff, and by the time they'd arrived Owen and Toshiko had recovered most of their memory. They'd spend much time talking in the kitchen, and the Doctor had avoided them. They were so happy to be together again, and he couldn't stand it. He stood at the entrance to the TARDIS as they left, Ianto waving as they walked out of sight into the hub. It was only Jack that stayed back, and asked him if he'd be alright. Of course, he said, not meaning it at all and knowing Jack knew.

The ship sailed through the vortex, and the Doctor sat with his feet propped up on the controls, gazing out where the doors had once been. It would take the ship a few days to repair them. He still wasn't clear how the time rotor had been repaired, but he was to busy with other thoughts to care. All that mattered was that it worked. A bell rang, and the Doctor stood slowly, watching the image of the vortex fade into that of a posh shopping center somewhere. Just... somewhere. He hadn't cared where. Or when. Just that it was nice, and only a few hours off from closing time.

As he walked back to the medical bay, he considered how to tell her grandfather what had happened. He couldn't fathom what to tell her mother. He paused with his hand on the door knob. This was the last trip he'd take with her, and he didn't even know where they'd landed. It didn't matter. He opened the door quietly and walked in. Donna lay where she'd been brought, still seemingly asleep. The Doctor rested his hand on her temples. He had been correct – only 4 hours before the cascade reached it's conclusion and her memory of him was erased completely. He concentrated a moment more, and released as he felt her eyes flutter.

Donna scrunched up her face, and blinked. "Doctor?"

"Hello." He said, smiling. "How are you feeling?"

"I could be better..." Donna replied, reaching up to touch her head. "Ug, I feel like I drank a whole keg! What happened?"

"You fell." The Doctor lied. "Pretty bad bang to the head, but you should be fine, let you sleep it off."

Her eyes narrowed. "You had me sleep off a concussion?"

"Yes?" The Doctor said weakly.

"Idiot." Donna said, sitting up. "You never let someone with a concussion sleep until you're sure it wasn't serious."

"Oh, I was sure. Nothing serious at all." The Doctor played being hurt. "You don't think I'm that stupid, do you?"

Donna smiled. "All the time. So, where are we?"

"Well, it so happens I'm in need of a new suit, so..."

"We're going shopping?" She asked expectantly.

"Why not?" The Doctor said. "Some dinner while we're at it. It'll be lovely."

"I'm going to go get changed." Donna said excitedly, attempting to stand up but nearly falling over. The Doctor caught her by the arm and helped her back to her feet.

"You alright?" He asked, very concerned.

"Yeah, fine." She looked down at his hands. "You watch where you put those though, alien boy."

The Doctor released her arm quickly. "Sorry." He said, smiling.

"Right, be back in a minute!" She said cheerfully, walking slowly out of the medical bay.

The Doctor leaned up against the wall in the corridor and sighed heavily as she walked down to her room. It was easy to intellectualize what he was loosing, but another story entirely to face it. He never imagined he'd miss being called sunshine, Martian, alien boy, but he realized he would. Very much so.

He continued to think back on her time while he walked back into the med bay and opened one of the many cabinets and withdrew a small bottle. He opened it, sniffing lightly, and upon being satisfied resealed the bottle and placed it in his pocket.

He walked out and back to the control room, where Donna was already waiting. She was wearing her black suit and was still doing up the buttons on the blazer when he arrived

"Been a while since you've worth that." The Doctor commented.

"Yeah, I wanted to look nice, seeing as we're doing dinner." She said, still working the buttons.

"Shall we?" The Doctor said, striding towards the doors. Or where they'd been. He uttered a long string of curses in his mind.

"Yeah, although I was meaning to ask you about that." Donna said, pointing to the opening. "When you'd get a convertible?"

The Doctor frowned. "A conver- Oh! Well," He said in his most charming voice, "I wanted to enjoy the view. Don't do it often enough."

"Well come on then," Donna said, taking his arm in hers. "Shopping! Let's go!"

The Doctor let himself be pulled away by Donna, and drug through countless stores. The suit he purchased was nearly identical to his old brown and blue stripe, and he was very happy with it. Donna, in the same time frame, had amassed an amazing amount of bags, boxes and parcels which she had assigned the Doctor to carry, all the while being let through more shops. He glanced at the time. Nearly two hours had passed.

"Donna," He began plaintively. "Are you getting hungry?"

"I suppose." She replied, fingering a black trench coat. She took it off the hanger and tossed it on.

"What do you think?" She asked, striking a pose as if aiming the sonic screwdriver. "Time Lord in training?"

"Oh well of course, it's the coat that makes the Time Lord." He sniffed, feigning indifference. "Obviously."

"I'm going to nab this, and then you said you were hungry yeah?" She asked, taking the coat off and hanging it over her arm.

"I didn't say I was hungry, I asked if you were hungry." He corrected.

"Right. So you said you were hungry." She said over her shoulder, walking to the counter. "I'll only be a minute!"

The Doctor half-smiled as he watched her from the entrance to the shop. Struggling with his hand which was laden with bags, he reached in his pocket. The bottle was still there. He continued to watch her, feeling much worse about himself than he had a moment prior.

She strode up to him and handed him yet another bag. "So, lunch?" She asked, smiling.

"Let's go." He said, smiling weakly back.

It took them a little while to find a proper restaurant that was acceptable. The majority of them seemed to serve things that weren't only raw, but alive, and Donna found that distasteful, to say the least.

"That's barbaric!" She had gaped, watching a large bipedal badger devour a bowl full of something that buzzed and crunched as he chewed, and the Doctor had just laughed.

They settled on a hole in the wall that sold Cajun food. There was a single bar at which one could watch the food being prepared, and the menu had been burn onto a wooden board and nailed to the back of the shop.

"I'll have the red beans and rice please, extra hot, bangers on the side." She'd asked. The Doctor said he'd have the same. They sat next to each other on the battered stools, watching the cook.

The Doctor appeared crestfallen. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Well, it's just that I couldn't find a tie for my suit..." He said. "And I really loved that old tie."

"You know," She said, looking over his shoulder at nothing in particular, thinking, "I think I saw one just like it a little way back."

"Really?" The Doctor asked, pretending to perk up. "Because I was looking and didn't see anything."

"No, I'm sure of it." Donna picked up her purse and hopped off the stool. "Be back in a second!"

A few seconds after she'd left the cook slammed two old, stainless steel bowls in front of them accompanied by a platter of sausages. He turned back to his work, which gave the Doctor the opportunity he needed. He reached into his pocket and removed the lid of the bottle, and palmed it out. After a quick look around, he waved his hand over her food. The white powder drifted down, quickly picking up the color from the oily mash. He stuffed his hand back in his pocket and looked up the way to see Donna on her way back.

"Look!" She said proudly, opening a small bag and producing a silk tie with a modest Japanese flower print. "Just like your old one, yeah?"

"Just like it." He grinned back, taking the tie in his hands. "You're a life saver Donna. Couldn't have that suit without the right tie."

Donna wasn't listening, but was instead inspecting her food. Taking the cheap spork the cook had provided she gingerly took a small bite.

"How is it?" The Doctor asked casually.

"It's delicious." Her face flushed. "And really hot!"

"Spicy hot or hot hot?" He inquired.

"Both!" She said happily after swallowing.

They'd demolished their food in short order, Donna being throughly impressed with the state of red beans and rice at this period in time. Every bite she'd taken caused the Doctor to feel more and more guilty.

"So, where to next?" He asked, sipping his water.

"Oh I don't know." She said. "I'm starting to feel sleepy, really."

The Doctor nodded. "That concussion is going to take a while to get over. You should rest."

"I suppose so." She said with disappointment.

"What?" He asked.

"It's just nice, this." She said a little slower than normal. "No disasters or explosions, you know?"

"Yeah." The Doctor said quietly, pausing. "We should get going though."

Donna hopped off the stool. "Yup."

The Doctor reckoned he should have been pleased that he'd managed to properly measure the dose of the sedative so well. By the time they'd reached the TARDIS Donna was exhausted. She flopped down in one of the chairs of the control room.

"Donna, can I ask you a favor?" The Doctor began.

"Yeah, sure." She said slowly.

"I need to take this suit to be tailored, and it's going to take ages, I was wondering, you want to sleep it off at your mum's place?"

Donna made a face. "Not really."

"Please?" The Doctor pleaded. "I'd really like to have it ready by the time we head off again."

He felt absolutely miserable saying that.

"Oh alright!" She said crossly. "Whatever gets you to shut up so I can sleep."

"Thanks." The Doctor beamed.

By the time they're arrived outside her family's home Donna had trouble walking. The Doctor nearly had to push her up the stairs, all the while explaining to her mother that no, she wasn't ill, she was simply drunk and needed to sleep it off in a familiar bed. She flopped down on a small twin, not even bothering with the coverlet.

"You're going to catch a cold." The Doctor chided her, still placing items from bags up on hangers in the closet.

"You just," She said slowly, having trouble picking the right words. "Worry about you."

Having finished packing the already full closet with her newest purchases, the Doctor came by her bed, and tugged the folded coverlet up and over her from it's place at the foot of the bed.

"Goodnight Doctor." Donna said, already half asleep.

The Doctor stood up and watched her for a moment. "Good night Donna."

He waited a moment more, until she was completely asleep. Leaning down, he kissed her forehead once, lightly, and stood again. She stirred and the Doctor took a step back.

"None of that... sunshine..." She mumbled, barely audible, swinging a hand in front of her face.

He backed away to the the door and stood for a long time, watching her. Finally he stepped back and closed the door, leaning back against it. He sighed, and headed downstairs. It was her grandfather that caught him first.

"What happened to her?" He asked. "Did she eat something, because she doesn't smell drunk."

The Doctor looked sadly at him, his voice distant as he spoke. "She's going to wake up in the morning, and not remember me. And she can't, not ever."

"But why?"

"It's difficult to explain," The Doctor said, "But it's desperately important she not. She'll get sick if she does, very sick. You can't ever tell her about me."

Her grandfather'd said nothing, but stared cautiously at the Doctor. Finally, he asked, "Well then what about you?"

"I'll be around." He said softly. "Doing what I always do."

The man nodded, and followed him out the door, standing on the landing watching the Doctor enter his ship which was strangely missing doors. The Doctor paused at the entrance to the ship.

"Remember!" He called out. "She can't ever know!"

He'd nodded at the alien, who'd already disappeared inside his ship. The wind blew as the box began to fade, the sounds of it's engines echoing off into the distance.

END.


End file.
